Plane Leaving Chicago Crashes In Northern Wisconsin

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two elementary school educators from Bensenville are among six people killed in a deadly plane crash in Wisconsin overnight Saturday.

In a remote area of Northern Wisconsin, a small aircraft went down just after 3 in the morning. Police say six were onboard.

Investigators said the plane left Chicago and was headed to Canada for a fishing trip.

 

Two of the victims are identified on the Tioga Elementary School Facebook page as Thomas DeMauro, a psychical education teacher, and Chuck Tomlitz, the district maintenance director.

DeMauro's son, Kyle, and Tomlitz's son, George, were on board the plane as well.

The DeMauro family did not wish to speak on camera, but provided CBS 2 with a statement that said, in part, "The DeMauro family would like to express our gratitude for the outpouring of support after the traffic loss of Tom and Kyle. We would also like to express our heartfelt condolences to the other families affected by this tragedy," the statement said.

"We deeply mourn their loss and both will be dearly missed. We would especially like to extend our gratitude to the first responders and community of Price County, Wisconsin and our family and friends in Bensenville as we struggle to process this unfortunate loss."

Tioga's co-principals shared a message on the Facebook page as well, that said, in part, "Mr. DeMauro and Mr. Tomlitz will be missed by all the Tioga Community."

 

The cause of the accident remains under investigation Monday by the Price County Sheriff's office, National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration. However, the NTSB says the debris field indicates the plane fell apart in the air.

Additionally, there was talk between the pilot and Air Traffic Control about a local weather phenomenon before the flight fell off the radar. The only pilot listed onboard was 70-year-old Kevin King.

 

This story is developing...

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