Martin ClementTwo men killed in last week’s mid-air crash between two aircraft off the Long Beach Harbor were identified Friday by authorities.

The men—whose bodies were found inside a Beech 35 Bonanza on Sunday, about two miles outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach—were identified by the coroner’s office as James Franklin Garber III, 80, of Harbor City, and Martin Richard Clement, 61, of Redondo Beach.

Authorities did not say who piloted the plane Friday, February 5 when it collided with Citabria flown by 72-year-old Torrance resident Mary Falstrom at about 3:15PM.

Falstrom—who was identified by her husband—had 25 years of experience as a pilot. Her plane and body were found Tuesday night, as the result of a collaboration between multiple agencies.

Garber was a licensed pilot and a flight instructor, according to the city-data.com website. Clement was a Catholic church deacon who worked as a financial planner, according to friends.


 

Both aircraft were operated out of the Torrance Municipal Airport. The crew of a fishing boat was the first to report a plane hitting the water on Friday afternoon.

The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration.

Mary Falstrom Facebook

Photo of victim Mary Folstram courtesy of her Facebook profile. Above, left photo of victim Martin Clement courtesy of his website

Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.