The name of the third and final occupant of the plane that crashed in a water-filled quarry last week on Grey Cloud Island in Cottage Grove has been released.
According to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office, Grace “Gracy” Addae, 30, Eden Prairie, died in the fatal crash.
Addae was in the airplane with Larry Schlichting, 60, of Eagan, and Lucas Knight, 23, of North Mankato, Minn. All three died in the crash.
The three were reportedly on a “discovery flight” Sept. 13 from Fleming Field Municipal Airport in South St. Paul, a flight designed to provide a prospective aviation student a chance at the controls.
Addae, who was born and raised in Ghana, emigrated to Minnesota about a decade ago, said her friend, Leah Chepkwony, of Eden Prairie. She was a certified nursing assistant and was studying nursing, according to Chepkwony, who said Addae lived with her at her house in Eden Prairie for almost a year, but had moved out in late July.
Chepkwony believes Addae met Schlichting in August when Addae was “sent by an agency to take care of Larry’s mom,” she said. The two later collaborated on YouTube projects, according to social-media posts.
Schlichting was a senior technical writer for MTS Systems in Eden Prairie.
Knight worked as a flight instructor for Air Trek North at Fleming Field. Originally from Coon Valley, Wis., Knight had been a licensed commercial pilot since June 2019. He graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato, in December 2019 with a degree in aviation and a concentration in professional flight. “His roommates dubbed him a nerd due to the amount of time spent reading about aviation and studying his note cards,” his obituary states.
“Lucas loved being outdoors and being active, whether it was going for a run, bicycling, riding his motorcycle, or being on the water with friends,” his obit states. “He loved trying new foods, was considered an expert by many on being able to pull off a smorgasbord of innocent pranks and was absolutely ga-ga over Teslas.”
Knight, the eldest of three children, attended school in Westby, Wis., graduating from high school in 2015. He was actively involved in cross-country and band and had also wrestled and run track, according to his obituary.
He worked at Shopko while in high school and at the Ace Hardware Distribution Warehouse after graduation. During college, he worked at Best Buy, and he had recently started a part-time job driving for FedEx in the Owatonna area.
Knight loved making new friends, electronic devices and reading, according to his obituary. “He was an avid reader from an early age and the sense of taking him on vacation was at times questioned since he always had a book to his nose,” his obit states.
“Lucas had a million-dollar smile and it would be his earnest desire for those saddened by his departure from this earth to improve yourself, inspire others, and keep moving forward,” his obit states. “The family would like to thank law enforcement and the search-and-rescue teams for their dedicated work, and to family, friends and the community for their outpouring of love and support.”
Knight is survived by his parents, Dennis and Lisa Knight, and his siblings, Dani and Ryan.
A memorial visitation will be noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Coon Valley, Wis., American Legion Hall. Attendees are asked to wear a mask. The Seland Funeral Home in Coon Valley is handling the arrangements.
According to FlightAware.com, a service that tracks flights, a single-engine Cessna Skyhawk took off from Fleming Field at 2:28 p.m. on Sept. 13. It was last seen four minutes later.
UPDATE: NTSB releases preliminary report on Cottage Grove plane crash
Officials were notified that the plane was missing around 8 p.m. They found the first sign of wreckage — a tire from the airplane — around 11 p.m. in the quarry on Lower Grey Cloud Island. The pit is operated by Aggregate Industries.
Washington County Sheriff Dan Starry said the search was difficult because the plane was found more than 70 feet underwater. Dive teams recovered the bodies of Knight and Schlichting on Tuesday; Addae’s body was recovered Thursday.