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Father of student: fatal flight was to see sights

By WTOP Staff

MARK GILLISPIE
Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — A small rented airplane crashed and burned shortly after takeoff Monday, killing four college students who were taking a sightseeing flight around Cleveland after their first day of classes.

The four men were students at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Three were members of the varsity wrestling team.

The wrestlers were identified as 20-year-old Lucas Marcelli of Massillon, Ohio; 18-year-old Abraham Pishevar of Rockville, Maryland; and 18-year-old John Hill of St. Simons, Georgia. The fourth student was the pilot, 20-year-old William Felten of Saginaw, Michigan.

Marcelli and Felten were sophomores and Pishevar and Hill were freshman.

The plane appeared to be trying to return to the airport when it crashed, said Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. He said investigators expect to file a preliminary report next week, but the full investigation could take a year to complete.

Bryan Marcelli of Massillon in northeastern Ohio said his son Lucas and the three other students planned to go up, take a look around and come right back to the same airport. He said Lucas was a hard-working student but not a risk taker.

“If he wasn’t my son, I’d want my son to be around him, because he was such a positive influence,” Marcelli said. “I don’t know anybody that doesn’t like him.”

Lucas Marcelli graduated from Jackson High School in Massillon and twice qualified for Ohio’s state wrestling tournament.

Abraham “Abe” Pishevar recently graduated from Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Maryland. High school classmate Cam Giarraputo said Pishevar never boasted about his wrestling accomplishments.

“He was always modest, never a show-off,” Giarraputo said.

Case Western Reserve is one of the world’s top research universities. The campus sprawls across a large portion of Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood in a mix of stately stone and brick buildings and distinctive modern structures. Students on campus gathered Tuesday afternoon in Veale Center, one of the school’s athletic facilities, to talk and to console each other.

The university’s wrestling coach, Mark Hawald, said no coach is ever prepared to deal with the sudden death of young athletes.

“We’re just coping and mourning and figuring how we can move on from losing three of our teammates, three of our brothers, three of our family,” Hawald said.

Case Western Reserve will work closely with the men’s roommates and friends, university President Barbara Snyder said in a statement.

There are no indications why the single-engine Cessna 172R crashed so soon after takeoff Monday night from Cuyahoga County Regional Airport in suburban Richmond Heights. The plane crashed in nearby Willoughby Hills.

An Ohio State Highway Patrol official said the plane had been rented by Felten for four hours and that he did not file a flight plan.

Residents who live near the airport rushed to the crash site and found the plane engulfed in flames. Mark Gerald, 45, told Northeast Ohio Media Group that he was sitting on his front porch and could hear a plane engine struggling. He said the plane exploded as he and neighbors ran toward it. The four men were trapped inside the wreckage.

“It was too hot,” he said. “The whole fuselage was involved.”

William Honaker, 18, said he was driving in the area when he saw a “ball of light” and realized a plane was on fire.

Honaker said he also tried to approach the aircraft, but onlookers warned him to stop.

“(The plane) was so mangled,” Honaker said. “I didn’t want to look at it anymore, to be honest.”

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Welsh-Huggins and Jennifer Smola contributed to this report.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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