2 Killed in Learjet Cargo Plane Crash
The pilot and co-pilots of a Learjet charter plane were killed on Tuesday when the small plane, making a cargo run, crashed into a riverbank just outside Chicago. The plane almost made it to Wheeling’s Chicago Executive Airport when the incident occurred. An investigation has been launched into the cause of the crash.
Officials say that the plane, which was owned by Royal Air Charter, departed from Detroit about an hour and a half before it crashed and was set to pick up cargo, which it would ferry to Atlanta. The flight was cleared for landing at the Chicago Executive Airport just before crashing at about 1:30pm.
Debris was found scattered in Cook Country forest preserve woods around one mile from the airport. Its fuselage was partly underwater in the Des Plaines River, with fuel leaking out. Two bodies were found in the wreckage, according to officials, but they many not be recovered until today. Their identities haven’t been released yet, but an Oakland County International Airport spokesman says he was told the pilots were experienced with the plane.
No initial theories as to what caused the crash have been offered from authorities. However, veteran commercial pilot Robert Mark, who flew into the airport shortly after the crash, thinks that the plane was stalling and lost lift. He says that it showed all of the signs, as it crashed nose down. The National Transportation Safety Board hints that they will focus on the aircraft, saying that they will look at its engine, systems and structure to determine the cause.
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