2 Bodies Identified After Hamptons Plane Crash

QUOGUE, NY — Two bodies recovered from a submerged aircraft by police divers after a tragic plane crash Saturday off Quogue have been positively identified by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office.

The two were identified as Jennifer Landrum, 45, of Augusta, GA and Richard P. Terbrusch, 53, of Ridgefield, CT, New York State Police said.

The incident is still under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to thecount.com, Terbrusch was a high-profile divorce and family law attorney.

In an interview Tuesday, Katie Cloneris, who was Terbrusch's assistant at Terbrusch Law Firm in Danburty, CT, where he was the sole practitioner, the news was very unexpected. "It's a very difficult time for his family," she said, adding that he leaves behind one child.

"He was very close with his family," Cloneris said. "He was also very well-known throughout the polo community," where he was on a polo team, she said.

Remembering her employer and friend, she said: "He always had a smile on his face. He was very energetic, he never sat down always going, taking care of something for somebody. He never said 'no.' He always tried to do his best, whoever was asking. That was something I looked up to him about."

She added that Terbrusch took her under his wing at the business. "He was really good to me and taught me a lot in the law office. I'm appreciative of the knowledge that he's given me."

According to a post on 12 WRDW.com, Jennifer Landrum was a beloved special education teacher at Thomson High School in Thomson, GA. "She was beautiful. She was just a wonderful person and a wonderful mother. She has two children," Carol Landrum, Jennifer's mother, said in that article.

The missing bodies of the man and woman who were in a plane that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Quogue Saturday were found Sunday, according to the United States Coast Guard.

USCG Lt. Jr. Grade Rodion Mazin confirmed the news Sunday evening: "Divers located and recovered two additional bodies," he said, adding that recovery of the fuselage, which may take some time, will be completed by the commercial salvage provider. The National Transportation Safety Board would take the lead in the investigation of the case, he said.

USCG Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier of USCG Station Shinnecock said the divers had found the two bodies and the USCG would be closing its part of the case and returning to base. Commercial salvage would continue to attempt to recover the aircraft.

In a press release, the USCG said it had officially ended its search after the two bodies were found; divers located the bodies after finding the wreckage of the aircraft in about 20-feet of water south of Quogue.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and families of the people who were aboard the plane," said Capt. Kevin Reed, commander Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound. "We are grateful to the emergency responders who assisted in the search efforts."

According to New York State Police, the first man located Saturday was identified as Munidat "Raj" Persaud, 41, of Waterbury, CT.aid.

In an update at noon Sunday, the USCG said it was a surfer who called Southampton Police at 11:10 a.m. Saturday to say they'd seen a plane crash into the water about one mile south of Quogue; police notified watchstanders at Sector Long Island Sound.

Prior to the crash, three people boarded the twin-engine Piper PA-34 at the Danbury Municipal Airport in Connecticut; it is unknown where their intended destination was, the USCG said.

Coast Guard Cutter Bonito searched through the night and into the morning for the two missing people. Assisting with the search were a Coast Guard Station Shinnecock boatcrew aboard a 47' motor life boat; Coast Guard Cutter Bonito, an 87-' patrol boat; a Coast Guard Auxiliary boatcrew; a Suffolk County marine unit and divers; the Suffolk County Sheriff's department; a Suffolk County Police Aviation Unit; Southampton bay constables; Quogue Village Police; and commercial salvage.

The commercial salvage is being performed by Sea Tow Shinnecock, or Lester Trafford, partnered with East End Dive Services and Walter Britton; their team was also instrumental in recovering the wreckage from the Amagansett crash in June.

During that operation, the team acquired a new ultra-high frequency side scan sonar that lets them see very detailed images of a wide search area under their vessel; their team were located the fuselage Sunday using that sonar equipment.

The flight originated from Danbury, CT, the Coast Guard confirmed.

While the FAA has been told by witnesses at the scene that the aircraft broke apart in the air, it is just speculation at this point, he said, because "we did not see it ourselves."

According to the USCG, at 11:10 a.m., watchstanders at Sector Long Island Sound were notified by Southampton Police that a twin-engine Piper PA-34 had crashed into the water about one mile south of Quogue.

The watchstanders then dispatched a boat crew from Station Shinnecock aboard a 47-' motor lifeboat, the USCG said.

It's the second time in recent months that a small plane crash has led to loss of life in the Hamptons: In June, a crash off Amagansett took the lives of Ben and Bonnie Krupinski, their grandson William Maerov, and pilot Jon Dollard, leaving hearts broken.

Patch lead photo by LTJG Rodion Mazin.

Patch photo of Richard P. Terbrusch courtesy Terbrusch Law Firm.