Crash pilot praised as FAA inspector.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

The pilot in a plane crash that killed two local women along the Rogue River on Saturday was a highly regarded airplane safety inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, a spokesman for the agency said Tuesday.

Vern Robert Miller, 60, ran a popular aircraft repair and maintenance business at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, Calif., for more than 20 years, said John Howard, manager of the FAA's San Jose Flight Standards Office.

He was known as a "meticulous" authorized safety inspector for the agency, and his Vern Miller Aviation business was famous for involving pilots each step of the way as he opened the panels and removed engine cowlings to inspect their planes.

"He was very conscientious, as a mechanic and an inspector," Howard said. "He caught things many other inspectors missed. He's going to be sorely missed."

Miller and his wife, Elizabeth, 58, died in the fiery crash that also killed longtime Creswell friends Sharon Hanson, 61, and Roberta "Bobbe" Way, 65.

Miller, a former co-owner of remote Paradise Lodge where the women were staying, flew into the rustic resort early Saturday morning to deliver a load of fresh strawberries. He also had berries for Half Moon Lodge, less than a mile away across the river, and the Creswell women accepted his invitation to ride along there and back so they could see the scenic river canyon from the air.

Georgia Struhsaker, chief investigator of the incident for the National Transportation Safety Board, said Tuesday that an investigation of the accident is continuing.

"We still have many witnesses to interview, including rafters on the river and guests at Half Moon Lodge," she said. "At this time, we have not ruled in or out some kind of mechanical failure. But there was no evidence the plane had difficulties with takeoff. The aircraft had been in and out of there many times, and witnesses there said the takeoff was normal."

Struhsaker would neither confirm nor deny a report in the San Jose Mercury News on Monday, quoting Curry County Marine Deputy Ted Heath as saying a witness at Half Moon Lodge reported that the 1955 Cessna 180 clipped a treetop before it crashed and exploded.

``A witness told me that the plane had gone downriver, and was flying low and sounded like there were no problems,'' Heath said. ``Then, it took a hard left turn right above the river, and clipped the top of a tree with the wing. That piece came off, which shifted the plane. It nose-dived down, and immediately exploded.''

Howard referred to that report Tuesday, when he said members of the California aviation community were stunned to hear of the crash.

"We were really floored," Howard said. "He had a reputation as a very good pilot whose inspections were always perfect. It appears it was a pilot awareness problem - even the best of pilots can lose focus."

The families of Hanson and Way plan a joint memorial service for 2 p.m. Sunday at the Creswell High School Commons. They suggest memorial donations to Creswell Presbyterian Church and the Creswell Library.