2-Year-Old Baby Girl and Her Mom among 4 Victims of a Small Plane Crash in Mississippi

This month tragedy struck in Hattiesburg when a small plane crashed into a home, killing four people. A mother and daughter who were on the airplane were sadly some of the victims.

On May 4, 2021, Gerry, 55, and Melinda Standley were sleeping peacefully in their Hattiesburg, Mississippi, home when a plane crashed into it. The home on Annie Christie Drive caught fire.

The couple, their daughter Arrianna, and grandson Eli were all in the house when the blaze broke out. Melinda and the children could get out with minor injuries; however, Gerry didn’t make it.

Melinda’s husband, an assistant pastor at his church and a full-time Warren Paving worker, died along with three other people in the plane. On Wednesday, police revealed the identities of the other victims.

They shared how Texas residents Dr. Louis Provenza, 67, Harper Provenza, 2, and Anna Calhoun, 23, who was the toddler’s mother, all passed on. Louis was a practicing neurosurgeon at United Regional in Wichita Falls.

The fatal crashed occurred at around 11:20 p.m., as per the Hattiesburg Police’s Facebook post. Currently, the cause of the airplane crash hasn’t been discovered, and an investigation is underway.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were notified about the incident to investigate. In an updated post, the Hattiesburg Police shared how people could get counseling.

They revealed that the Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources would be available for onsite crisis and grief counseling. From May 5 until May 7, they would be at Edwards Street Fellowship from 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Community Support Specialists, Mental Health Therapists, and Peer Support Specialists would also be available to residents if needed. A GoFundMe account has since been created to assist Melinda.

Gerry’s widow, a Division Manager for Hattiesburg Police Department's 911 Communications Center, needs the funds for her and her family. The money would be used for the funeral and replacing home items.

So far, the fundraising account has managed to raise $6,140 of its $50,000 goal. The fundraising page also noted that people could donate to the Hattiesburg Police Department's Benefit fund.

In a similar incident that occurred in March, a home doorbell video captured the moment a single-engine plane crashing into a residential neighborhood car near Miami. Two people died.

Last month, a gender reveal party went sour in Cancun, Mexico, when a plane involved in the stunt crashed into the water. Two people who were in the aircraft sadly died from the incident.