Results tagged “planecrash”

• The White House responded today to the video footage of the brawl in which 16-year-old Derrion Albert was killed.
• The New York Times has announced plans for a local edition in Chicago.
• The investor who bought the city's large old main post office has missed a deadline, putting the deal in jeopardy.

It was 30 years today that American Airlines Flight 191, from O'Hare to Los Angeles, crashed shortly after take-off, killing all 271 people on board and two more on the ground and remains the deadliest single airliner crash in U.S. history. As the plane proceeded to take off, the number one engine on the left wing separated from the plane, flew over the wing, and crashed on the runway behind the plane. Yet the plane continued with its take off, eventually reaching a height of around 300 feet before banking to the left and then crashing, striking a hangar at the old Ravenswood Airport.

A single-engine plane crashed at the Sandwich Airport in DeKalb County yesterday afternoon, killing two. According to the Chicago Tribune, Randy Hougham was taking friends for rides in his vintage 1946 Ercoupe 415-C. Two flights went well, but the third ended in disaster. The plane crashed and caught fire shortly before 2 p.m., killing Houghham, 53, and his passenger, recent Bradley University graduate Lauren Hamilton, 22. Hougham's brother-in-law, Bruce Burlingame, said, "He was a great guy, a good family man, a good dad. He was just a normal guy who did construction work and had a plane."

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary findings in its investigation of a January plane crash in West Virginia that killed all six people on board, all from the Chicago area. The NTSB found that a flight plan hadn't been filed and that the pilot mostly ignored requests from air traffic control. The NTSB also noted that the flight was originally consist of five passengers, not six.

Six Chicago area residents, including four members of the American Polish Aero Club of Chicago, died Friday when their small Piper PA-34 plane crashed near Kenova, West Virginia. According to other members of the club, the members who died in the crash were Kazimierz Adamski (Morton Grove), Wieslaw Dobrzanski (Niles), Irenevsz Michalowski (Des Plaines), and Stanislaw Matras (Chicago). Also on board were Monika Niemiec, a reporter for a local Polish radio station, and her father, Stanley Niemiec. The plane had left McHenry County and was headed for a stopover in Charlotte, North Carolina before heading to Clearwater, Florida when the crash happened Friday afternoon. A thousand people attended a memorial service yesterday at St. Constance Catholic Church and friends and family members gathered at the club to remember their loved ones. As of yesterday afternoon, officials in West Virginia had still not identified who was on board, but the names were released by the club. [Trib]

The FAA is saying all 150+ people onboard the US Airways flight that crashed into the Hudson River are alive and okay. Head over to our sister site Gothamist for more coverage on the crash.

The Wisconsin couple who died when their small single-engine plane crashed on New Year's Night at Joliet Regional Airport were killed by "blunt head and chest trauma" upon impact. The autopsy was performed on Saturday. Deborah Loiselle and Stuart Seffern died when Seffern's plane crashed on take-off from Joliet Regional. They had traveled from Orlando and stopped for fueling. The cause of the crash is still unknown.

As NTSB investigators continue looking into the New Years Day crash that killed two at Joliet Regional Airport, a few more details are emerging. First, it appears as if the plane actually crashed on take-off. The plane landed as its passengers, Deborah Loiselle and Stuart Seffern, both of Madison, Wisconsin, hoped to refuel. Upon finding no one to help and no fuel at the site - given the holiday - the pair then attempted to take off, but the plane "took a hard left" causing the crash. It also seems that the pair had flown in from Orlando, Florida and not Buffalo, New York as several media outlets had initially reported. The plane originally landed about 6 p.m. Wednesday evening and attempted the take-off around 8:40 p.m.

Based on personal effects and registration information, authorities believe the two people who died in last night's plane crash at Joliet Regional Airport were Stuart D. Seffern, 50, and his partner, Deborah A. Loiselle, 52, both of Madison, Wisconsin. Authorities had earlier identified Seffern as the owner of the aircraft.

A small plane carrying two people - a man and a woman - crashed late yesterday evening in Joliet killing both on board. The crash happened at Joliet Regional Airport. According to FAA records, the Lancair 360 single-engine aircraft belonged to Stuart D. Seffern of Madison, Wisconsin. Neither victim has been identified, so it's unknown if Seffern was on the plane. Per the Trib, Joliet Regional is "an uncontrolled field" which means pilots land "at their own discretion."

Remains found near the site of adventurer Steve Fossett's wrecked plane have been identified as Fossett. Fossett, a former Chicago trader, went missing in September 2007.