Corona, CA: Teens Identified As Plane Crash Victims

Matt Shope, 18, of Long Beach, and Pedro Torres, 19, of Pomona, died in the July 23 crash.

The victims of a deadly July 23 plane crash just outside the Cleveland National Forest in Corona near Lake Elsinore were identified by the coronor’s office today as two teenagers.

Matt Shope, 18, of Long Beach, and Pedro Torres, 19, of Pomona, were killed in the crash that was reported around 10:30 a.m. July 23 in Joseph Canyon, Corona, near the 4000 block of Suzie Circle.

The teens were the only people aboard the plane; it is not clear which of the two was piloting the aircraft.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said age was not an issue.

The two teens were found in the wreckage but their identities were withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The small fixed-wind single-engine craft disintegrated upon impact and sparked a fire that scorched an acre of open-space hillside.

The plane was destroyed, FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said.

“There were only pieces left," said Thomas Rosales, whose Corona home looks out over the crash site.

Firefighters quickly put out a one-acre blaze caused by the deadly crash.

The cause of the crash is being investigated.

According to the FAA Registry, the downed plane was manufactured by American Aviation in 1971, and the engine was manufactured by Lycoming.

The registered owner of the small aircraft is Rays F Inc. out of Carson City, Nevada, according to the FAA Registry.