Funeral services will be held Wednesday for a Butler native and her husband who died in a small plane crash last week in central Pennsylvania.
Valerie Bernardo, 54, and Joseph Bernardo, 55, were killed May 1 when their single-engine plane crashed into the side of a mountain near Penn State’s Main Campus.
Reports indicate Joseph was piloting the plane as it took off from University Park Airport in State College. Flight-tracking website FlightAware.com had the plane expecting to land at Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport in Penn Township.
Valerie Bernardo was born in Butler and her mother still lives in Chicora. Her husband Joseph was originally from New Jersey. The two were living in State College.
It’s unclear what caused the crash. Crews reportedly spent over an hour initially searching for the crash site when the plane went down amid heavy fog. The two victims were then pronounced dead at the scene.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating.
