Investigators expect it will be some time before they know all the details of a midair collision that ended with two planes crashing and three people dead Saturday evening.
Witnesses said the planes took off from the Aero Country Airport and collided while turning over a crowded area of McKinney.
One of the small private aircraft crashed into Custer Road, shutting down the street for much of the night until investigators were able to move the debris.
The other plane crashed and caught fire inside Uncle Bob’s Self Storage, where the National Transportation Safety Board and McKinney Police spent most of Saturday combing through the charred wreckage.
Two of the victims have been identified as Gregory Barber and Tim Barber of Farmersville, a city official confirmed. The third victim hasn't been identified.
"Greg was a very beloved man in this community. He was involved in just about every aspect," said Farmersville Fire Chief Kim Morris. "Anything that was going on, you could expect Greg and his boys there. Greg and Tim were very giving. They never asked. They just gave."
Morris, along with close friends, were at the Barber family home on Saturday night.
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"Last night was the toughest. Sitting there and telling your son about somebody that he love, somebody he cherished like his own dad," said friend Danny Bolch.
Bolch is the leader of Boy Scouts Troop 310. Gregory and Tim Barber were active members. [[409239565,C]]
"He loved what was in the air. He taught our kids a lot about what's outside in the world," said Bolch, while fighting back tears. "He meant so much to us."
Gregory Barber is a retired Air Force Pilot. His son, Tim, was home for the holidays from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
"He just started at the academy and ended his first semester there," said family friend Keith Clifton. "He wanted to be a pilot as well."
An NTSB representative confirmed that no one on the ground was injured during the crash.
Many tenants of the storage facility waited nervously outside to see if their units had been damaged in the crash, but most said the loss of life at the site was a much more disturbing realization.
"The material things can be replaced, but someone has to answer for the people,” tenant Erik Downs said.
Investigators finally removed the second plane just before 4 p.m., and tenants were allowed to go back into the facility as police cleared the scene.
