By PETE BANDA
Special to the NEWS
Two San Benito natives were among six people involved in a tragic and fatal accident in California over the weekend.
Manny and Abigail Vargas, both 2008 graduates of San Benito High School, were on their way back from a business trip in Las Vegas early Saturday morning when dense fog caused their private plane to miss the intended landing strip by a mere 500 feet.
Following the crash landing, the plane was engulfed in flames within seconds as all six occupants were trapped inside. The high school sweethearts had been living in California for the better part of the last decade as Manny used his skills as a pilot to create a budding empire.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA], the crash occurred shortly after 3 a.m. when the pilot of the Cesna C550 business jet, 25-year-old California native Riese Lenders, called in to air traffic control to inform them he would have to perform a “missed approach” – meaning he would need to circle the landing strip to try and re-locate the runway.
Manny and Abigail Vargas leave behind five children, including a three-year-old and a one-year-old.
“It’s really a tragic accident that you didn’t think could happen to a family like them,” said childhood friend Angel Martinez. “They really were a power couple even before they moved out of the Valley. I was able to visit them a couple of times and see the crazy success they’ve had and then for it all to be gone just like that…It was really a shocking thing to see.”
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