Four people from Wisconsin were killed on Saturday when their private, single-engine plane crashed in a field near an airport in rural Illinois after reportedly striking powerlines, authorities said.
The Cessna 180G aircraft crashed about 10:16 a.m. local time Saturday in the unincorporated community of Trilla, Illinois, southeast of Coles County Memorial Airport in nearby Mattoon, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Preliminary information, according to the NTSB, indicates that the plane struck powerlines before crashing.
“My whole house shook,” Kynnedi Goldstein, who lives near the crash site, told ABC News.
Goldstein shared video footage she took in the aftermath of the crash, showing smoke billowing from the wreckage, which was strewn across a field and a two-lane road.
All of the plane’s occupants were pronounced deceased at the scene, according to the Illinois State Police. All four crash victims were from Menominee, Wisconsin, about 45 miles northwest of Green Bay, according to the State Police.
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The names of the victims have not been released.
The Coles County Coroner confirmed that two men and two women were killed in the crash.
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The cause of the crash is under investigation by the NTSB, which sent a team to Trilla on Sunday. The Federal Aviation Administration, which also sent personnel to the crash scene, is assisting in the investigation, the agency said.
The NTSB said the investigation involves three primary areas: the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.
As part of the investigation, the NTSB said it will review flight track data, recordings of any air traffic control communications, aircraft maintenance records and weather reports from around the time of the crash.
The agency said it is also reviewing the pilot’s license, ratings and flight experience. The NTSB is also conducting a 72-hour background check on the pilot “to determine if there were any issues that could have affected the pilot’s ability to safely operate the flight.”
The agency said it expects to release a probable cause report on the crash in 12 to 24 months.
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