Pilot ID'd in fatal small plane crash in Boone County

The pilot who was killed in a small plane crash in Boone County last weekend has been identified. 

Fire officials responded to the single-engine plane crash around 4 p.m. on Saturday in a residential neighborhood in Poplar Grove, located about 10 miles east of Rockford and about a mile-and-a-half south of the Poplar Grove Airport. 

The plane was a Whittman Tailwind airplane, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Witnesses said the plane crashed into the fence dividing two homes, prompting a gas leak. No one inside the homes was hurt, and the gas leak was secured by Nicor Gas Company, fire officials said.

The Boone County Coroner's Office identified the sole occupant on the plane as Richard C. McClung, 83, of Rockford, Illinois. 

An autopsy conducted on Tuesday indicated that he died from injuries from the crash.

Investigation into the cause of the crash remains ongoing by the Boone County Sheriff's Department and the NTSB.

No further information was released.