New memorial to honor 1994 Roselawn plane crash victims

ROSELAWN, Ind. (WLS) -- Relatives of 68 people who died in a plane crash 20 years ago in northwest Indiana will dedicate a new memorial in their honor on Friday.

On October 31, 1994, the American Eagle flight 4184 was on its way from Indianapolis to Chicago when it went down in a farm field near Roselawn.

The victims' loved ones will dedicate a new memorial wall that includes bricks engraved with the names of the people who died in the tragedy.

Jennifer Stansberry Miller of Fishers had a brother die in the crash and helped organize the wall's construction. She said the families are grateful for volunteers who've maintained a memorial of 68 crosses at the site, but it's time for a permanent remembrance that will be dedicated Friday.

"We have been blessed," she told the Post-Tribune. "Those individuals have donated their time and efforts in building, painting, repairing and placing two sets of 68 crosses twice a year."

The National Transportation Safety Board determined in 1996 that the plane developed ice on its wings while in a holding pattern. The turboprop plunged into a field about 30 miles south of Gary. The crash helped spur federal legislation requiring airlines to have a process in place for notifying crash victims' families and for returning personal items such as luggage and jewelry.

The Rev. Brent Wright, the pastor at Broad Ripple United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, lost his father in the crash and avoided memories of that time for many years. Wright planned to meet many of the families of the other victims for the first time during a public forum Thursday night in Merrillville.

"It's been a journey of grief over 20 years," Wright told The Indianapolis Star. "This is a new chapter. I am grateful there will be something in that space for a long time."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.