Bloomington, Il Plane Crash - Seven people died after a small plane crash in McLean County, Illinois, near the Bloomington airport Tuesday while on its way home from the NCAA basketball tournament in Indianapolis. Authorities said that two members of Illinois State University's athletic department were amongst those killed in the Bloomington, Il plane crash.
The plane involved in the Bloomington, Il plane crash was a twin-engine C414A Cessna Chancellor. It took off from Indianapolis around 11 p.m. Monday and crashed Tuesday after radar contact with the plane was lost around 12:15 a.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that when the plane took off just short of the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington after midnight, it was amidst heavy fog, reported the Chicago Tribune.
A search was soon launched and a Bloomington police officer later discovered the wreckage from the Bloomington, Il plane crash in a field northeast of the airport.
McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage said all seven occupants were all pronounced dead by the county coroner at 4:15 a.m., according to ABC 7.
The two members of Illinois State University's athletic department who were killed in the Bloomington, Il plane crash were identified as Aaron Leetch, deputy director of athletics for external operations, and Torrey Ward, associate head coach of the Redbirds men's basketball team.
"The entire campus (is) in mourning," said ISU president Larry Dietz in a statement.
The other two from the seven victims in the Bloomington, Il plane crash have been identified as Terry Stralow, a partner in a popular bar in Bloomington-Normal, and Scott Bittner, owner of a meat-processing company and of the plane which crashed.
The other three people who were killed have yet to be identified.
Conditions before the Bloomington, Il plane crash were reportedly foggy, however officials have not yet identified whether that played a role in the crash.
The plane had reportedly been in contact with air traffic control in Peoria before the Bloomington, Il plane crash. It handles communication with airplanes after the Central Illinois Airport radio tower closes at 10 p.m., according to Carl Olson, director of the airport.
Olson said that at some point, "that radio contact was lost." He added that though airport control tower normally closes at night, it is common for planes to land the hour after closing. Also, pilots reportedly have the ability to remotely indicate when they need the runway lights turned on.
Before the Bloomington, Il plane crash, the pilot did not cancel the flight plan nor did he make any alterations.
The Bloomington, Il plane crash's cause remains under investigation by National Transportation Safety Board and FAA, reports Fox News.
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