State police ID pilot who died in small plane crash in western Indiana
WEST LEBANON, Ind. (AP) – Authorities say one person died after a small plane flying from Ohio to Illinois crashed in western Indiana.
The plane was discovered Sunday morning in Warren County, about 75 miles northwest of Indianapolis, shortly after the resumption of a search that began late Saturday. Indiana State Police say the pilot who was killed, 68-year-old George Irick Jr. of Congerville, Illinois, was the only occupant.
The Civil Air Patrol says the single-engine Cessna departed from Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday morning bound for Peoria, Illinois. The plane was expected to refuel in Danville, Illinois. But when it dropped off radar late Saturday, the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department in Illinois notified authorities in Warren County of a possible downed plane.
The cause of the crash is being investigated. The Federal Aviation Administration is on the scene, and the National Transportation Safety Board is set to arrive Monday.