>>paul gardella was always quick with a smile and a wave. they are devastated at the news that gardella and james duncan or the man who perished after their plane collided with another small aircraft over role fauquier county. the pilot of the other plane managed to land. >> there were just friendly. the loss is going to be extremely sad for all of us. >> he was beloved by neighbors for his kindness and respected by colleagues for his piloting skills. >> a very good one. very well liked in the community. very popular. >> we are told duncan was piloting the plane at the time going through maneuvers to renew his license. but what went wrong remains under investigation. >> it just happened. it was not because the pilots were not fully qualified. they were. accident happens. >> we have a significant development in the newsroom. nasa officials confirmed to us that the pilot who perished james duncan went by dr. michael duncan who used to work for nasa and played a major role in a medical perspective and a number of shuttle missions in space and wa

. >> the beechcraft plane caught on fire killed in the crash where 57-year-old paul gardella of burke who worked as a flight instructor and jails mike duncan of bethesda. a doctor with the national transportation safety board. duncan on the far left and others were honored by the president after leading the medical team that inspected the site where 33 chilean miners were trapped recommendations that helped save their lives. back at the crash site, investigators are trying to figure out who was at the controls. >> we'll be looking at the man, the machine, the environment. after we collect this information, we'll begin the process of analysis, writing draft reports and in the end a final report. >> reporter: because the owners of the planes work for two government-related agencies, canadian transportation safety board officials are handling the investigation. in warrenton, jane watrel, news4. >>> we're track have the remnants of tropical depression beryl tonight. the storm spawned a tornado that destroyed homes today near the north carolina coast. emergency officials say 40 to 50 homes

it killed paul gardella and james duncan of bethesda. with the national traffic safety board. investigators trying to figure out who was at the controls. >> this particular type of aircraft has one set of flight controls that can be shared between the pilots. it is called a throw-over yoke. we've determine it was toward the left side so the person in the left seat would have been the person that would have had control of the aircraft. >> reporter: because the owners of the planes work for two government aviation related agencies, canadian transportation safety board officials are handling the investigation. in warrenton, jane watrel, news4. >>> day eight of deliberations in the john edwards corruption trial has just ended. still no verdict. edwards arrived at the courthouse with his parents and daughter for a second day in a row, the judge held a closed door meeting with the lawyers. we still don't know what was discussed. the jury will work an extra 30 minutes today and tomorrow in an effort to reach a decision. edwards is accused of using campaign money to hide his mistress

he was piloting the beach craft and his passenger, 57-year-old paul gardella of burg, virginia. pilot of the piper cherokee landed in a field with one wincherred off. he -- wing sheared off. he is mir rucolasly okay. the other aircraft burst into flames killing duncan and gardella. he was a flight instructor at aviation adventures in warrenton. neighbors say gardella loved to fly, loved his family and gardening. >> he was a very good man. and they're a wonderful family. his wife is a sweetheart. they have a very close family. very close-knit. and this is just shaken us all up. i can't even imagine. if that were my husband. my children's father. i can't -- you know, it's horrible. >> reporter: well, on the aviation adventures website gardella has a quote answering what was his most exciting aviation adventure and he says any first aerobatic lesson. i can't get it out of my head. at 6:00 it's the ntsb and the canada tsb investigation part of the story and our bruce leshan is out there in fauquier county to bring us the very latest hoping to answer some of the questions how this tr

the pilot of the other plane james duncan died in the crash as did his passenger paul gardella. two were only five miles out of the airplane. >>> well, jerry sandusky's child sex abuse trial is on track to begin next tuesday. a judge today denied a request by the former coach to delay the trial. sandusky is accused of molesting 10 boys between 1994 and 2008. >>> the 20-year-old rut ger student who used a web cam to spy on his roommate. his roommate took his own life. he is ready to start serving his 30-day sentence but prosecutors are appealing the sentence calling it too lenient. if they're successful, he could be punished twice for the same crime. >>> still ahead, honoring a local legend. we have a complete run down for funeral plans for chuck brown. >>> plus the study just released says the mineral zinc could be used in saving the lives of sick babies around the world. that's coming up next. >>> and i'm topper shutt. 83 today's. that's about average. wakeup weather, a cold front goes through. it's going to be a great thursday. 58-68 to start. mid 60s and mid 70s by 9:00. we'l

a 57-year-old flight instructor, paul gardella, was a passenger on board. he was killed on impact, too. >> pretty dramatic. the man was in his mid-50s, i think. it's terrible. >> officials say the piper's pilot, a 70-year-old faa accident investigator if somehow managed to land safely in a nearby field. he was taken to a hospital. what caused the crash is still under investigation. it is being handled by a team out of canada. that is because the surviving pilot worked for the faa and. dr. duncan worked at the ntsb and those are the agencies that would usually investigate. >> while we learn more about the victims, canadian investigators are the process of taking over the case. the survivor, 70-year-old thomas proven is an employee of the federal aviation administration. he is recovering from his injuries this morning. >> new this morning, a person is in the hospital after being hit by a train before midnight near the east-west highway in riverdale. queensbury lane. the victim's condition is not known. >> there was a deadly domestic incident in prince george'

he and paul gardella were killed on monday when their plane collided with another plant in fauquier countycident investigator thomas proven managed to land his plant and survive. >> and other local service member has been killed in the afghan war. 22-year-old sergeant julian chase died on monday while conducting combat operations in helmand province. the graduated from woodrow wilson high school in the district, but eventually moved to edge water, maryland. his father said that his son was a born leader and was on his second tour of duty in afghanistan. >> he inspired a lot of people and made a lot of friends both inside and outside the marine corps. he always was responsible for other people. i have always been proud of him. >> julian chase was an only child. is father says that his latest tour of duty was supposed to end in september. he wanted to go to george washington university and had already been accepted to three other schools. new portraits will be unveiled today at the white house of former president george w. bush and former first lady barbara bush. the two will be there today

>>> we now know the names two of men killed in a midair plane collision on monday. 57-year-old paul gardellarke, virginia, and 60-year-old james michael dunn can of bethesda died when their plane went down after a collision. the pilot of the other plane, 70-year-old thomas pruvin survived. duncan was honored by the president for his past efforts. >>> today the jury will deliberate without the four alternates in the courthouse. the judge has sent them home. they did get attention for wearing matching shirts. meanwhile there's no indication that the jury is any closer to reaching a verdict. he's accuse of using nearly a million dollars to hide his mistress during his presidential run in 2008. >>> a planned parenthood controversy is taken its toll on the susan g. komen breast cancer walk. co-man yanked funding from planned parenthood but overwhelming public outcry forced them to reverse that position. >>> right now they it's beginning a descent back to earth. it's expected to splash down off the california coast just before nun. the dragon delivered more than 1,000 pounds of food and supplies t

monday's mid air collision over fauquier county. 60-year-old james dunkin of bethesda and 57-year-old paul gardella of burke, virginia died. they were in the same plane of one of the to that collided. the pilot of the other plane did survive. liz name is thomas provin. he got out of the hospital last night. because both pilots worked for government agencies, canadian authorities have now taken over the investigation. >>> today is national dam safety awareness day. fema will use a local dam to highlight the safety improvements it's making over the last several years. you might remember back there was a scare in june of 2006 at lake kneewood dam. thousands were evacuated in the middle of the night over fears that dam was about to break. it followed several days of torrential rain. the dam fortunately held. improvements have been made over the years to the dam itself as well as how it handles safety planning. >>> jessica doyle is watching your money and the people who watch your money. >> banks are charging us to close our accounts? which banks? >> a lot of banks. lots and lots of banks. let's say you

dunton had died in that crash, gardella. paul reaction this morning from neighbors. the world a share in an unforgettable fall in 2010 when were pulledn miners to safety. team led by michael duncan played a key role. 60-year-old physician one of awards for his contribution. pilot. was also a something unexpected happened. with him at the controls and a instructor at his side, collided mid-air plane inher small virginia. the beechcraft fell to the ground and burst into flames duncan and paul. >> extremely traumatic. the man was, what? mid-50's? that is terrible. >> i cannot believe it. it is just so sad. >> she said that she knew that he worked at nasa, but idea that her instrumental in astronauts and a saving trapped miners. >> i did not realize how important he was. he seemed very low key and unassuming. the cause as to why those collided remains under investigation. abc 7 news. >> new porches will be unveiled white house. former president george w. bush lady.rmer first there will have lunch with the president and mrs. obama. there will then presided the unveiling c

his passenger was paul gardella they were in a plane that collided with this one over fauquier county. thomas prove was at the controls of this wing that lost part of its tail and wing he survived the crash. >>> in just over 24 hours we may be in for some tough economic news new figures come as the presidential candidates continue to take aim at each other's records. doug luzader joins us live on capital hill. good morning doug. >> reporter: tony good morning. new unemployment numbers are out tomorrow. today we could learn the economy is not growing as fast as we first thought. it took a tough summit to watch the overseas markets through the night, following a big drop on wall street yesterday. the dow falling 160 points. nervous investors now looking at spain with its soaring unemployment and troubled real estate loans. >> the hole is so big the spanish government will find it difficult to save the spanish banks without blowing a big hole in its budget. >> reporter: that is a big concern at the white house too. the president is already trying to lower expectations ahead of tomorrow's

with michael botkin at the controls and paul by his side, they collided in mid-air with another small plane the. duncan and gardella both died. >> extremely traumatic. the ban was in his mid 50's i think. that is terrible. >> i cannot believe it. is so sad. >> she says she knew at one time he worked at nasa but she had no idea things to his humility that he was instrumental for caring for astronauts and saving trapped miners. >> i did not realize how important he was. he was very low-key and very unassuming. >> why those two small planes collided in midair continues to be under investigation. live, jay korff abc 7 days. >> will learn more about the victims and monday's crash. investigators are in the process of taking over the case. thomas proven was an employee of the aviation association. he continues to recover from the injuries he suffered on monday. >> we are learning more about a story we reported at 6:00. a house fire visible from the parkway causes chaos in the neighborhood. investigators are telling us what led to the fire where a man was found inside the home where it was said. this chopper 7 was there. t