Civil Air Patrol Crash Kills 2 in Louisiana

MONROE, La. – A small Civil Air Patrol (search) plane crashed during a training exercise in a swampy area of northeastern Louisiana, killing the pilot and a second man on board, authorities said Tuesday.

The men were among at least six people killed Monday night in separate small plane crashes in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Florida and South Carolina, officials said.

The wreckage of the single-engine 182 Cessna (search) from the Louisiana arm of the Civil Air Patrol was found near a state highway about 10 miles northeast of the airport in Monroe on Tuesday morning, said sheriff's Capt. Danny Acree. Rescuers had searched for the plane for 11 hours, he said.

The victims were not immediately identified. Lt. Suzann Ford, spokeswoman for the Louisiana CAP, said the last message from the pilot informed air traffic controllers he would alter the plane's course.

"From what I heard, there was no mayday at all," she said. "They went below radar and all radio contact was lost."

Ford said the crew was apparently practicing approach maneuvers when the crash happened.

Also Monday, a small plane crashed into the Arkansas River (search) as it approached the Little Rock airport, killing one person on board, officials said. Another person was missing. Jackie Bekeza, office manager at Kirby Fiberglass Inc. in Pueblo, Colo., said Tuesday that Arkansas officials notified the company that the body of company owner Herbert Kirby had been recovered.

Other crashes:

— In Florida, a single-engine Piper Cherokee crashed about 45 northwest of Orlando, killing the pilot, John Porter McGaughy, 60.

— In South Carolina, a Piper PA30 Twin Comanche crashed at Charleston International Airport, killing Archie T. Simpson, 63.

— In Texas, Gabriel Rosales, 69, died when the single-engine Cessna he was flying crashed near the airport in Coleman.