ANDERSON, Ind. — An initial report from the NTSB on a small plane crash in Anderson, Indiana that killed four people shows "no evidence of an inflight structural failure."
The crash happened Sept. 6 near Anderson Municipal Airport. The plane crashed near the 4300 block of East 100 South on the east side of Anderson, just north of the Yarberry gravel pit and about a half-mile southeast of the airport.
The Madison County Coroner's Office released the names of the victims of the crash:
- Joseph R. Scallon, 68, of Iowa Falls, Iowa
- “Owen” James Renaud, 19, of Alden, Iowa
- Jesse H. Ostheimer, 41, of Alden, Iowa
- Braden W. Hicks, 36, of Manson, Iowa
Madison County Sheriff's Department Capt. Darwin Dwiggins told 13News the single-engine plane departed from Fort Dodge, Iowa, around 6:45 a.m. Sept. 6 and was projected to land at the Anderson airport shortly before 10 a.m.
As the plane was making its initial approach to the airport, the pilot was told they were too high and to re-route and make another approach. Dwiggins said eyewitnesses told police the plane was possibly attempting to turn back toward the airport when it "flipped over" and nosedived into a corn field, bursting into flames.
According to the preliminary report from the NTSB, a witness reported seeing "the airplane come up above a tree line in a climb. Shortly afterward, the airplane stopped climbing “all of a sudden,” rolled to the right, and entered a descent. The engine was loud and sounded like it was “really revving;” adding that it seemed to be wide open."
The NTSB reports it could not determine the position of the flaps at the time of the crash. However, it goes on to say that "based on the examination of the available wreckage, no evidence of an inflight structural failure was observed."
The airport is located at 282 Airport Road on the east side of Anderson, near Chesterfield.