Update, March 1: Three people killed when a single-engine plane crashed in the Memorial Park Drive area of Gainesville have been identified.

The victims are Dan Delnoce, 44, of Gainesville; Courtney Flanders, 45, of Gainesville; and Matthew Delnoce, 39, of Ohio, according to a Hall County Sheriff's Office press release Saturday, Feb. 27.

Dan Delnoce and Flanders were married, and Matthew and Dan are brothers.

Scott Dixon of Scott’s Downtown said he was in the restaurant when the news broke. A number of doctors were having dinner when a number of pagers started going off.

Dixon said he met Flanders, a nurse anesthetist, through a mutual friend and met Dan Delnoce when the couple started dating several years ago. He described the pair as “absolutely a joy to be around.” 

Dixon recalled a memory of going with the couple about two years ago to a Jimmy Buffett concert. Even when a torrential downpour washed over the show, they never stopped smiling, he said.

"They were not only individually just really great people to be around, but together they really were just such a great couple and loved each other so much,” Dixon said. “And all of that showed, all of their joy and their joy with each other and joy of life.”

Dan Delnoce and Flanders each had two children who are between the ages of 9 and 15.

Specialty Orthopaedics Dr. John Vachtsevanos said Dan Delnoce had been part of the clinic’s family since 2007 and was also a certified athletic trainer.

“He was a trailblazer in his profession, always finding (a) way to expand the field,” Vachtsevanos wrote in an email. “He was the first athletic trainer to join our practice in 2007, and he paved the way for an additional nine certified athletic trainers to join in the following years.”

Vachtsevanos said Dan had a passion for life, whose “larger than life personality made him the center of attention wherever he went.” 

“He loved to laugh, he loved telling stories, and he never met a stranger,” he said. “His legacy of generosity and loyalty shines through in his children's lives. His commitment to our company and his impact on our employees is immeasurable.”

Dixon said he and Dan Delnoce started flight training around the same time a few years ago, with Delnoce logging well over a couple hundred hours.

One of the last times Dixon saw Flanders was when he requested her to perform the anesthesia for a surgery in December, though they had talked a few times after that.

"They touched a lot of people and a lot of lives in the area, so it's definitely a big loss to the community as well as those of us that were closer with them," Dixon said.

A Gofundme account was set up for the Delnoce family, which had raised $6,270 as of 6 p.m. Monday, March 1.

According to the Sheriff’s Office’s report, the plane was a 1978 Cessna. 

The bodies have been taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for autopsy. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are working other aspects of the crash.

The safety board did not have any new information Monday, March 1. A spokesman said a preliminary report should be out in two weeks, and a final report would come in one to two years.

According to the FAA, Dan Delnoce was certified as a private pilot.

Update, Feb, 27: The victims have been identified as Dan Delnoce, 44, of Gainesville; Courtney Flanders, 45, of Gainesville; and Matthew Delnoce, 39, of Ohio, according to a Hall County Sheriff's Office press release Saturday, Feb. 27.

The sheriff’s office "involvement in the case remains the ongoing death investigation," the release says.

The bodies have been taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for autopsy. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are working other aspects of the crash.

Previous article: Three people were killed when a single-engine plane crashed in the Memorial Park Drive area of Gainesville, authorities said.

Hall County Fire Services Division Chief Zach Brackett said they received the call around 6:11 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26. He said the plane crashed in a ravine around Titshaw Drive near Memorial Park Drive.

The fire department’s units were spread from the scene of the crash up to Atlanta Highway.

“Based on the direction of where the plane ended up and knowing that it started at Titshaw, you can tell it was trying to go back to the airport,” Brackett said.

The information from Federal Aviation Administration was that the plane was en route from Gainesville to Daytona Beach, Fla., with three occupants onboard. All three adult occupants were found dead, Brackett said.

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office will be handling the death investigation.

Authorities are assessing any property damage in the area, including behind homes in the Catalina subdivision off Memorial Park Drive. Emergency vehicles filled a cul-de-sac off Luna Lane. 

No one was hurt on the ground, Gainesville Fire Department spokesman Keith Smith said.

However, the plane’s wing crashed into the bedroom of a trailer off Cross Street, near Memorial Park Drive, while people were having dinner in the residence.

Four adults and one child were displaced after fuel landed on their residence, according to Hall Fire Services..

The residents were referred to the American Red Cross.

Memorial Park Drive at Cross Street is closed, and police are asking for drivers to take alternate routes.

Jeff Gill contributed to this report.