HOWLAND — In the week since a fatal plane crash claimed six lives, the Mahoning Valley has banded together to provide condolences and support.

On Thursday, Mahoning County Commissioners extended their sympathies to the Weller, Blake and Maxin families and said the county is working with its northern neighbor to provide counseling services for those in need.

On Sunday, a twin-engine Cessna 441 Conquest crashed in a wooded area off King Graves Road shortly after taking off from Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna, killing Veronica Weller, 68; James Weller, 67; John Weller, 36; and Maria Weller, 34, all of Hubbard along with pilot Joseph Maxin, 63, of Canfield and co-pilot Timothy Blake, 55, of Hubbard. The crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

James Weller was president and CEO of Liberty Steel Industries Inc. and his family was beloved among the Sharon Speedway racing community.

Maxin, an attorney, was director of compliance for the Western Reserve Port Authority, and also worked as a Mahoning County assistant prosecutor in the criminal division. He also was the lead pilot in the new flight school opened in partnership with Youngstown State University.

The university and the airport hosted a reception just two days prior to the crash to cut the ribbon on the new pilot and truck driver training programs.

Before Thursday’s meeting began, Commissioners called for a moment of silence in honor of the victims and then shared their personal thoughts about the tragedy and the people involved.

“It’s just tragic that you’re with someone on Friday and at such a joyous event at the airport … and everybody’s so happy, and his family was there, and then on Sunday morning get a phone call from [airport director] Anthony Trevena and I couldn’t believe it,” said Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti.

Commissioner Geno DiFabio echoed his colleague’s statements.

“The hardest part of this week was going from the elation to the tragedy and devastation,” he said.

Commissioner Anthony Traficanti remembered how much Maxin loved his work.

“Joey Maxin, he loved aviation so much that he left the prosecutor’s office and wanted to be out at the airport,” he said, remembering the man he called a very close personal long-time friend.

“That was a very beautiful day at the airport and I can’t believe I hugged him for the last time. I’ve got chills,” Traficanti said.

The commissioners thanked Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board Executive Director Duane Piccirilli for his efforts to coordinate with Trumbull County.

“Everybody thinks they’re OK, but you’re not OK,” Rimedio-Righetti said. “Just to be able to talk and be with somebody who really knows how to deal with tragedy, that’s the way to handle it.”

Katie Cretella, director of clinical services for the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board said both counties make services available in the aftermath of major tragedies like this one, especially for first responders.

“We have the Mahoning Valley Critical Incident Stress Management Team, and that is a project of the Trumbull and Mahoning County mental health boards,” she said. “That consists of first responder peers and mental health professionals that are trained in crisis intervention and we provide support to first responder departments throughout both counties after any tragic or critical incident.”

The aircraft, operated by Meander Air LLC, departed runway 32 at 6:53 a.m., en route to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Montana. Flight data shows the plane made a left turn before crashing about one minute later, roughly 1.2 miles northwest of the airport, in a densely wooded backyard near King Graves Road. The 1984 Cessna was destroyed, but no ground injuries were reported, despite the crash’s proximity to three homes.

Emergency crews included Howland police and fire, the Trumbull County HazMat team, Youngstown Air Reserve Station fire crews, and a Trumbull County Emergency Management Agency drone unit.

Cretella said the CISM team coordinates with each local department at the department’s request.

“We coordinate with the department’s leadership to see what the needs are,” she said. The CISM team can provide 1-on-1 peer support for first responders — firefighter to firefighter, or dispatcher to dispatcher, and so on.

Those are the services Cretella recommends for first responders at this point, following the crash.

“This would be more peer support or if they need a connection to outpatient treatment, then we have different agencies in the community trained to provide mental health treatment,” she said. “They’re prepared to work with first responders and they understand first responder culture.”

In other incidents, Cretella said the CISM team will conduct larger sessions called debriefings.

“We go in and work with those that were directly involved after a major incident response,” she said. “We go in and process the event with them, and the goal is to get them back into the line of duty. To process it, and talk through anything they need to. The goal of a debriefing is stabilization, ventilation, reduction of acute distress, providing information, and facilitating resilience. Ultimately, we want to restore unit cohesion and unit performance.”

Whether it is individual or group treatment, Cretella said the department or individual can count on anonymity.

“Everything is confidential, and we don’t keep notes or report what departments we’ve worked with,” she said. ” If there are any financial or insurance issues, they can contact their county mental health boards and we’ll work with them.”

Cretella said those in Trumbull County can reach out to her directly or those in Mahoning to her counterpart there, Michelle Werth.

But the agencies aren’t only there for first responders, she said.

“Anybody in the community that’s in crisis, they can call 988 0r 211, if they’re having a mental health emergency, or if they’re seeking mental health resources they can call the boards or seek information from our websites,” she said. “That goes for people who knew the families and are really struggling, or just anyone seeking mental health resources.”

The NTSB said a preliminary report is expected within 30 days and a final report, including probable cause and safety recommendations, within 12 to 24 months. This is the second such crash in the area in nearly a year. On July 19, 2024, a twin-engine plane crashed while attempting an emergency landing. Three people from Laval, Quebec were killed.