November 28, 2012

500 attend service for 3 killed in plane crash

The service at the University of Maine honored fraternity brothers William 'B.J.' Hannigan of Portland, David Cheney of Beverly, Mass., and Marcelo Rugini of Brazil.

The Associated Press

ORONO — More than 500 people gathered for a memorial service at the University of Maine Tuesday night to honor three fraternity brothers killed in a plane crash.

Members of the university's Greek community, students, faculty and staff packed an auditorium to remember the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity brothers – 22-year-old David Cheney of Beverly, Mass., 24-year-old Brazilian exchange student Marcelo Rugini and 2011 graduate William "B.J." Hannigan of Portland.

Authorities say the three were killed when their single-engine plane clipped a pickup truck during takeoff at the Knox County Regional Airport in Owls Head on Nov. 16th.

Meanwhile, school leaders commended fraternity members Tuesday night for how they've reacted to the tragedy.

The Bangor Daily News reports after the service, the crowd moved outside for a candlelight vigil.

Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form

Send question/comment to the editors




Further Discussion

Here at OnlineSentinel.com we value our readers and are committed to growing our community by encouraging you to add to the discussion. To ensure conscientious dialogue we have implemented a strict no-bullying policy. To participate, you must follow our Terms of Use.

Questions about the article? Add them below and we’ll try to answer them or do a follow-up post as soon as we can. Technical problems? Email them to us with an exact description of the problem. Make sure to include:
  • Type of computer or mobile device your are using
  • Exact operating system and browser you are viewing the site on (TIP: You can easily determine your operating system here.)


Most…