Two young people have been killed in a plane crash in Ohio County, possibly caused by a severe thunderstorm that moved through the area.
Ohio County Sheriff Adam Wright said that Wednesday night at approximately 11:00, Owensboro/Daviess County Central Dispatch received a report from Evansville (IN) Airport Control Tower of a possible plane crash near Whitesville.
The National Weather Service issued multiple Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for the area Wednesday night, beginning at 9:28. The final Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Ohio County was issued at 10:58 p.m.
The small plane, a Piper PA 28-161, contained a flight instructor with Eagle Flight Academy, Timothy “Junior” McKellar, 22, of Custer, and student pilot, Connor W. Quisenberry, 18, of Beaver Dam, and was en route from Bowling Green to Owensboro.
Deputies with the Ohio and Daviess County Sheriff’s Offices “assumed joint command of a search” for the aircraft. Wright said Kentucky State Police, Daviess County Fire, the Whitesville Fire Department, and Daviess/Ohio County Emergency Management responded to the command post, initially established at Deserter Creek and Old Deserter Creek Roads, about three miles southwest of Whitesville.
“The initial search, “Wright said, “was set up based on information from the flight path, cell phone pings of the pilot’s cellphone, and Life 360 app.”
Three drones and an airplane were launched to search once the weather cleared. As additional information became available to first responders, the search was centered around New Panther Creek Church inside Ohio County on Highway 764.
“Shortly after units focused on that area, paperwork associated with an aircraft was found in a heavily wooded area behind the church,” Wright said.
At approximately 8:30 Thursday morning, officials located a wing in the New Panther Creek Church area. Then, at about 9:40 Thursday morning, Kentucky State Police announced that the plane and the bodies of the two occupants had been found.
The bodies have been transported to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Madisonville for autopsies.
The Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and Kentucky State Police are leading the investigation.
(Photo: Timothy “Junior” McKellar, courtesy of Facebook)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
