Officials continue to investigate a plane crash that killed four people Saturday morning near the intersection of Route 14 and North Ridgefield Road outside Crystal Lake.
The crash happened in a field around 10:30 a.m.
"We received several calls immediately after the accident happened," McHenry County Sheriff's Department Undersheriff Andrew Zinke said. "It was from people living in the vicinity, as well as you can see it's a heavily traveled highway and people passing by called 911 from their cell phones as well. In a short period of time we probably received 20 to 30 phone calls in a matter of minutes when the crash took place."
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said the McHenry County Coroner is still trying to positively identify the victims because they were injured beyond recognition.
Zinke said it is possible the victims were a man, woman and their two adult children. Some were still strapped into their seats when they were killed.
Crews remained on the scene well after dark Saturday to recover the aircraft.
Debris was scattered across more than 100 yards of field to the north and south of Highway 14 after the high-energy impact. NTSB Air Safety Investigator Tim Sorensen said the moderate rain that fell Saturday evening might prolong the recovery efforts until Sunday.
The NTSB is still trying to determine what caused the crash. No distress call was made prior to the accident, but investigators think the pilot was speaking with the Chicago Approach Air Traffic Control.
"As far as whether the aircraft was in trouble, I have no indication at this point that it was," Sorensen said. "Obviously something did go terribly wrong, but exactly what that is, I don't know at this time."
An emergency parachute was deployed shortly before impact, but no one on board survived. Some models of the Cirrus-SR20 aircraft are equipped with flight data recorders, however Sorensen was unsure if this plane had one in use.
According to FAA records, the plane was registered to the Marion Pilots Club, Inc. of Marion, Ind. It is not immediately known where the plane was traveling.
Investigators will have a preliminary report on the crash in about one week. The final report will take about nine months to finish.
SMRTNUP
4:15 am on Sunday, November 27, 2011
Lethal vehicles - in order of dangers: - - ultra-light aircraft - Sub-compact car - compact car - motorcycle - mid-sized car - mini-van - full sized car - pick-up truck - full sized van - helicopter - industrial van - commercial box truck - semi-tractor trailer - light fixed-wing aircraft - light fixed-wing jet aircraft - passenger / cargo train - passenger jet liner - walking - recliner chair - full sized bed.
Les
4:41 am on Sunday, November 27, 2011
.After reading this article, I don't believe this was the result of pilot error. I do feel that it was the result of a major mechanical, elecrical etc problem. I hope investigators work hard to analyze all maintenance records, interview all who worked on or flew this aircraft. I think they will find the problem(s).
Ralph McGraw
8:08 am on Sunday, November 27, 2011
Pilot error? Lack of skills? Equipment Failure? Who knows. That plane is equiped with a safety parachute for the plane. Was an attempt made to activate it? Was the parachute inadvertently activated while in flight causing the crash? Will have to wait for all those answers from the professionals.
Ron
11:07 am on Sunday, November 27, 2011
How many people died in car crashes that day? Why aren't there articles about all of those fatalities?