BELLEVILLE, Ill. – An investigator says the fatal crash of a small plane in southwestern Illinois occurred while the pilot was trying for a second time to land at an airport in rain and fog.
John Brannen of the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot had aborted a landing Sunday evening at St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia.
Brannen says the pilot apparently was circling back for another try when the single-engine plane went down into a house and hangar near Belleville.
St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone has tentatively identified the victims as 65-year-old Donald Estell of Clayton, Mo., and 68-year-old Robert Clarkson of Belleville.
Investigators are still trying to pinpoint the cause of the crash.
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