The small plane that crashed into a bean field early Tuesday morning near the Central Illinois Regional Airport apparently went in hard and fairly vertical. Todd Fox is an Air Safety Investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. “There was a limited wreckage debris field with all the wreckage, primary structural components of the wreckage either remaining already attached to the main air-frame or were found within one wingspan of the main wreckage," he said.
Seven people died in the crash. McLean County Coroner Kathleen Davis identifies those killed as: three Bloomington residents 51-year old Thomas Hileman, 64-year old Terry Stralow and 45-year old Jason Jones, as well as three Normal residents: 37-year old Aaron Leetch, 40-year old Andrew Butler and 36-year old Torrey Ward. 42-year old Scott Bittner of Towanda was also killed in the crash. Hileman was the pilot.
Investigator Todd Fox says it seems the plane was trying to land at the Central Illinois Regional Airport when it turned away from the runway. Fox says it’s not clear why the aircraft made that maneuver. “"At the time of the accident there was low ceilings, low cloud ceilings as well as fog and maybe some mist and light rain," he said.
Fox says Peoria Airport controllers gave the pilot guidance for an instrument landing because of the low visibility. That usually happens five to seven miles out from the runway. The crash site was about a mile away from the end of the runway and all of the wreckage from the small plane was contained to the impact site.
The McLean County Coroner says the seven victims of the crash were found belted into their respective seats. Kathleen Davis says the impact from a crash killed the seven men instantly. She says four of the crash victims men had to be identified with dental records due to the force of impact.
The National Transportation Safety Board has up to 18 months to issue a probable cause final report. An initial factual report including weather data is expected next week. The FAA is also doing a standard review of the functionality of the airport lighting system.
