A father and his adult son were killed on Thursday night when their private aircraft, a Beech 95‑B55, went down in a remote part of Monroe County, Illinois. The pair had just attended a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game before boarding the plane at St. Louis Regional Airport.
Investigation Launched
The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that it has dispatched two investigators to the crash site. Officials say the aircraft began a turn that appeared to be an attempt to avoid severe weather before it entered a descending spiral and crashed before 11 p.m. local time.
A medical helicopter located the wreckage early Friday morning within a tree line adjacent to a field. The wreckage was discovered after the plane failed to arrive at its intended destination, Siloam Springs Municipal Airport in Arkansas, where it was scheduled to land later that evening.
The victims, identified only as a 48‑year‑old pilot and his 22‑year‑old son, were residents of Oklahoma. Monroe County Sheriff’s Department personnel responded to the scene, and the NTSB will conduct a thorough examination of the flight data and environmental conditions that may have contributed to the accident.