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Last updated on Tuesday, April 7, 2015
(BLOOMINGTON, Ill.) - A small plane with at least seven people on board crashed near the city of Bloomington in Central Illinois.
McClean County Sheriff Jon Sandage says the county coroner pronounced all seven occupants dead.
Authorities did not release the victims' identities, but Illinois State University confirmed two of the passengers were ISU assistant head coach Torrey Ward and Aaron Leetch, the athletic department's deputy director for external relations.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna 414 took off from Indianapolis late Monday night and crashed just short of the airport in Bloomington after midnight Tuesday. The plane's occupants were returning from the NCAA Final Four, officials and relatives told the Chicago Tribune.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna 414 took off from Indianapolis and crashed just short of the Bloomington airport after midnight Tuesday.
The Tribune quotes Scott Barrows as saying his daughter's husband, Scott Bittner, was on board with three other men and the pilot.
The local fire department referred calls from The Associated Press to the coroner's office, which didn't immediately return messages for comment.
A family friend who answered a phone listing for Scott Bittner refused the comment beyond asking for privacy.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. Heavy fog was reported in the area at the time of the crash.
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