'SADDENED AND SHOCKED': Niceville community mourns family after plane crash (7 P.M. UPDATE)

7 p.m. UPDATE:

NICEVILLE — The instructions hanging on the Discovery Learning Academy door were simple: “Breathe, Breathe, Cry, Breathe.”

Tears filled the eyes of workers and parents at the child care center as they absorbed the news that owner Terresa Teutenberg and her family had been killed in a plane crash Saturday.

“People we don’t know are stopping by to see how we’re doing, bringing us food and just giving us hugs,” said director Jennifer Langston, as her eyes swelled with tears. “(Terresa) was like a sister to me. The Discovery family is very sad and stricken by the loss. We encourage people to stop by, lend a hand or just check things out.”

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The Teutenbergs were returning from a family reunion in St. Louis, Mo., when their plane lost its right engine. The plane crashed in Demopolis, Ala., during an emergency landing.

"Flying is an inherent risk, but Fred was a good pilot,” said family friend Joe Fagundes III, who had stopped by the child care center Monday morning to offer support. “He had just been at a family reunion and was trying to get home, so he could play bass in the church band Sunday morning.

"Everything he was doing that day was something he loved."

Killed in the crash were Fred, 42, Terresa, 38, and five of their children – 2-year-old Emma, 4-year-old Peyton, 6-year-old Ellie, 9-year-old Brendon and 10-year-old Will.

The close-knit family was heavily involved in the community and their loss is being felt across the Emerald Coast.

"When I got the news, it was just disbelief,” Fagundes said, as he sat in a rocking chair inside the center. “Then I went into crisis management mode.”

Terresa’s oldest daughter, 16-year-old Ashlei Bruewer, was not on the plane. A former Ruckel Middle School student, Bruewer now attends high school in Missouri.

The teenager, who lives with her father, was planning to visit Niceville next week.

“Every single one of the kids (was) bright and always laughing,” Bruewer said in a written statement to the Daily News. “My mom was always smiling and extremely caring. (My step-dad) was a great dad and was always helping people in any way he could.”

Marantha Harvath, a teacher at Discovery Learning Academy, had taught 2-year-old Emma for more than a year and was still in shock at the news.

“You’re not supposed to have a favorite, but she was it,” Harvath said, wiping tears from her red eyes. “She was the one I would want to take home.”

Harvath was surrounded by children early Monday when a young boy walked up to her and asked, “Is Miss Terresa in heaven now?”

“Yes, yes she is,” Harvath said, smiling. “That’s exactly where she is.”

Mary Sims, a second-grade teacher at Blue Water Elementary, said she has been in contact with Brendon’s friends who were in her class last year.

“He was just a joy to have in class,” Sims said. “All the kids loved Brendon. He was loved by everybody.”

Will would have started fifth grade in August while Brendon was a rising third grader. Ellie would have started first grade in the fall.

Bluewater Elementary School Principal Connie Hall said school officials are in “complete shock.”

“This is very, very sad,” Hall said. “It’s just horrible. I couldn’t have imagined something this terrible happening.”

The Teutenbergs were active members at Niceville United Methodist Church, where Fred also played in the praise band.

Lead Pastor Rurel Ausley said the loss of the Teutenberg family would affect everyone in the Niceville community.

“Our church and community is saddened and shocked by this,” Ausley said. “Our faith in God gives us hope. … The flip side to this is that we are not without hope and our community will come together and rely on God through this.”

Staff reporter Mona Moore contributed to this story.

11 a.m. UPDATE:

NICEVILLE — Tears filled the eyes of workers and parents at Discovery Learning Academy as they absorbed the news that owner Terresa Teutenberg and her family had been killed Saturday in a plane crash.

“This is a tough place to be at," said family friend Joe Fagundes III as he sat in a rocking chair inside the day care. "When I got the news it was just disbelief. Then I went into crisis management mode.”

According to Morengo County Coroner Stuart Harold Eatmon, Fred and Terresa Teutenberg were on their way home from a family reunion in St. Louis when Fred reported the plane was having engine failure.

“He radioed in to Meridian, Mississippi’s airport. He was calling, ‘Mayday, mayday,’ and they answered him and he told them he was having engine failure,” Eatmon said Sunday. “That was at 8:10 and 8:15 they picked him up on radar and then they lost him. I think that’s when his plane completely quit.”

Teutenberg was flying a Cessna C421 from Creve Coeur Airport in St. Louis, when he diverted the plane to Demopolis Municipal Airport.

According to Holly Baker, a spokesperson for the FAA, the plane had lost its right engine and came within two miles of the airport before it crashed.

Eatmon confirmed seven people were killed in the crash: Fred, Terresa, their daughter Emma, 2; their son Peyton, 4; their daughter Ellie, 6; their son Brendon, 9; and their son Will, 10.

"Flying is an inherent risk, but Fred was a good pilot,” Fagundes said. “He had just been at a family reunion and was trying to get home so he could play bass in the church band Sunday morning.

"Everything he was doing that day was something he loved."

View a slideshow of family photos »

Lead Pastor Rurel Ausley of Niceville United Methodist Church said Monday the loss of the Teutenberg family would affect everyone in the Niceville community.

“Our church and community is saddened and shocked by this,” Ausley said. “Our faith in God gives us hope … the flip side to this is that we are not without hope and our community will come together and rely on God through this.”

Midnight UPDATE:

Ashlei Bruewer said she was planning to visit Niceville next week. She had this to say of her family:

Every single one of the kids was bright and always laughing. My mom was always smiling and extremely caring..my stepdad was a great dad and was always helping people in any way he could.

10:30 p.m. UPDATE:

Officials have confirmed that the family is survived by Therresa Teutenberg's oldet child. Coroner Stuart Harold Eatmon said 17-year-old Ashlei Bruewer was not on the plane.

Eatmon identified the victims as Fred Teutenberg, 42; his wife, Terresa, who was in her mid-30s; their daughter Emma, 2; their son Peyton, 4; their daughter Ellie, 6; their son Brendon, 9; and their son Will, 10.

Terresa Teutenberg owned Discovery Learning Academy in Bluewater Bay.

"She was an excellent leader and role model. Her work within the school and the community will be greatly missed. She was patient and loving with the children in the school."

The academy will be open Monday and will offer grief counselors from First United Methodist Church of Niceville to the children and any friends of the family.

• Read the academy's statement released Sunday night. »

Fred Teutenberg had a company called Advanced Integrated Technology Systems.

Fred Teutenberg was also active in youth soccer as a coach with the Emerald Coast United travel soccer club and as the head coach of the Ruckel Middle School boys soccer team.

Eatmon spoke to Fred's father after the crash. Fred Sr. said he had been on his son to buy a newer plane if he was going to fly with his entire family, Eatmon said.

"He told is dad the plane had two new engines," Eatmon added.

10 p.m. update: DEMOPOLIS -- A Niceville family of seven heading to Destin Airport was killed in a plane crash Saturday night.

According to Morengo County Coroner Stuart Harold Eatmon, Fred and Terresa Teutenberg were on their way home from a family reunion in St. Louis when they reported engine failure.

“He radioed in to Meridian, Mississippi’s airport. He was calling mayday, mayday and they answered him and he told them he was having engine failure,” Eatmon said. “That was at 8:10 and 8:15 they picked him up on radar and then they lost him. I think that’s when his plane completely quit.”

Teutenberg was flying a Cessna C421 from Creve Coeur Airport in St. Louis, when he diverted the plane to Demopolis Municipal Airport

According to Holly Baker, a spokesperson for the FAA, the plane had lost its right engine and came within two miles of the airport.

Eatmon confirmed seven people were killed in the crash. The couple was traveling with at least five of their children. Officials are working to confirm whether or not a sixth child was on the plane.

“Possibly eight. We just gotta confirm it through forensic science,” Eatman said. “His wife had a daughter with a previous marriage. She lived in St. Louis with her father. So it’s possible she was on the plane.”

The search party used a helicopter out of Montgomery, Alabama to find the family. Using the helicopter’s infrared, they discovered the wreckage at about 2:17 a.m. Sunday.

It was west of Demopolis, Alabama.

“We had to go about three miles out of Demopolis and then go back about eight miles back in the woods on the Tombigbee River. He was about 100, 150 yards from the Tombigbee River,” Eatmon said.

The plane hit the trees and turned upside down. It then fell to the ground and caught fire.

The FAA and NTSB will investigate the accident and is NTSB is the lead investigative agency, and is now on the scene.

The Teutenbergs were members of First United Methodist Church of Niceville. Fred played the bass guitar with the church band every Sunday.

“He was just a really fine, Christian guy,” James MacDonald, who had known the family since they moved to their Otterlake Cove home across the street from him.

Scott Walton described the Teutenbergs as a loving family that always appeared to enjoy being around each other.

“Therresa was a wonderful lady. She was very supportive of Fred and all the things that he was doing,” he said. “Of course their kids were just a joy, always running around and being very helpful to their father. They’d come in Sunday mornings to see him playing bass. They would carry his gear and help him set up.”

Members of the church enjoyed watching Fred play in the band because he did it with such energy.

Bob Webb attended church with the family and volunteered with Fred. He was sort of a renaissance man.

“He not only played with our band, he played with other church bands elsewhere,” said Bob Webb, a friend of the family and member of the church. “He told me one time he even toured a while. So he had a lot of interests.”

Another interest of Fred’s was soccer. He was a coach with the Emerald Coast Soccer. Philip Rose was involved in the league. He said friends and family were having a tough time dealing with the loss.

“It’s a big loss to the community,” Rose said.

More details will be posted as they become available.

9 p.m. UPDATE: 

DEMOPOLIS — A Niceville family of seven heading to Destin Airport was killed in a plane crash Saturday night, according to an Alabama television station.

According to Morengo County Coroner Stuart Harold Eatmon, Fred and Terresa Teutenberg were on their way home from a family reunion in St. Louis when they reported engine failure.

"The plane, a Cessna C421, was manufactured in 1978 according to the FAA Registry and was registered to Advanced Integrated Technology Solutions based out of Niceville, Florida," reported the news station.

Eatmon confirmed seven people were killed in the crash. The couple was traveling with at least five of their children. Officials are working to confirm whether or not a sixth child was on the plane.

8 p.m. UPDATE:

A family of seven returning home to Destin died in a plane crash over Demopolis, Ala., Saturday night, according to the FAA and media reports.

Names have not yet been released.

The wreckage was not found until early Sunday morning. 

According to FOX6 in Alabama, the Marengo County Coroners' Office says the family was returning to Destin from a family reunion in Missouri.

FAA Spokeswoman Holly Baker said the Cessna C421 was flying from Gadsden and diverted to Demopolis after it lost an engine, according to the TV station. 

"The plane, a Cessna C421, was manufactured in 1978 according to the FAA Registry and was registered to Advanced Integrated Technology Solutions based out of Niceville, Florida," reported the news station WSFA.

The crash is under investigation by the FAA, NTSB and Marengo County Sheriffs' Department.

This story comes courtesy of BNO NEWS.

DEMOPOLIS, ALABAMA (BNO NEWS) -- Five children as young as two were among a family of seven who were killed on Saturday evening when their small plane crashed near a local airport in western Alabama, the local coroner confirmed on Sunday.

The accident happened at around 6.34 p.m. local time on Saturday near Demopolis Municipal Airport in Demopolis, a city in Marengo County. The eight-seat Cessna 421C aircraft was flying from the city of Gadsden in Alabama to Shreveport, Louisiana.

"[The aircraft] declared an emergency and diverted to Demopolis Municipal Airport after losing its right engine. The plane crashed within about two miles (3.2 kilometers) of the airport," said Holly Baker, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "Seven people were on board."

Despite having crashed close to the airport, Baker said the downed aircraft was not found until about 2.17 a.m. local time on Sunday. Marengo County Coroner Stuart Eatmon arrived at the scene at around 9 a.m. local time, and it took several hours to recover the victims from the wreckage.

"I went out in the field at about nine o'clock and we carried them all to the forensics lab at around three o'clock," Eatmon said, confirming that all seven people on board were killed. "We had to lift the plane [which was] completely burned up."

According to federal records, the 1978-built aircraft was registered to Advanced Integrated Technology Solutions, LLC in Niceville, Florida. No one answered the phone number provided at the company's website, which said the company provides custom software and hardware solutions.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the cause of Saturday's accident, which is the deadliest plane crash in the United States so far this year. In March, five people were killed when a small plane crashed at Long Beach Airport in California.