NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
A father and his 22-year-old son died when their small plane apparently took off in a storm coming home from a game in St.
The pilot, 48, and his son took off from the airport in St. Louis Regional in Bethalto on Thursday and were headed to Siloam Springs Municipal Airport in Arkansas when the plane crashed near Waterloo, Illinois, the Monroe County Sheriff's Department in Illinois said in a press release.
The father and son have been identified as Jimmy Don Lewis and Brayden Ty Lewis, the Monroe County Coroner's Office confirmed to KSDK.
MISSOURI SKYDING plane crash that killed all 12 on board is 'a huge loss,' company says.
Jimmy Don Lewis and Brayden Ty Lewis, pictured in front, during their flight. (Facebook/kelsey.lewis.927)
Investigators say the pair spent the night at a Cardinals game before flying home in what is believed to be a Beechcraft Baron 55.
“Investigators believe that the plane took off in bad weather,” authorities said. “Flight data indicates that the aircraft appeared to begin to turn, possibly trying to avoid bad weather, before entering an area that appeared to be descending. The radar was lost after that.”
Jimmy Don Lewis and Brayden Ty Lewis posed for a photo together. (Facebook/jill.lewis.311)
Emergency crews were dispatched around 2:34 a.m. Friday after reports of a possible plane crash south of Waterloo. Search efforts were hampered for hours by low clouds, rain and poor visibility, forcing authorities to rely on a large multi-agency response that included special drone teams from Illinois and St.
THE OPENER OF THE BIBLE SCREAMS ON THE FRIDAY BEFORE THE PLANE LANDES IN NEW YORK CITY ON THE EAST RIVER.
An ARCH Air Medical helicopter finally found the remains around 7:40 a.m. in a tree line near Columbia Quarry after investigators narrowed down the search area.
“We offer our condolences to the victims' families and loved ones,” authorities said after confirming that both passengers had died in the crash. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this incredibly difficult time.”
Kelsey Lewis told the Daily Mail that her father and brother got their driver's licenses together, saying the two “did everything together.” He also described his father as someone who had experience flying.
“Dad, when it came to flying, he was very cautious about everything,” Kelsey told the outlet. “Be very careful.”
The Monroe County Sheriff's Department worked with the Waterloo Fire Department, the Maystown Fire Department and the Monroe County Coroner's Office during the investigation. The FAA and NTSB then conducted an investigation to determine the official cause of the accident. (Facebook/Monroe County Sheriff's Department)
He said that the problem that was seen in the weather tracking system in the plane that caused it to be read 30 minutes into the flight may have led to it crashing.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration later took over the accident scene, while the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA continued to investigate the cause of the accident.
Officials stressed that the findings released so far are preliminary and that the investigation is ongoing.
