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Images: Dense fog contributed to downstate plane crash

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A private plane returning from the NCAA basketball tournament in Indianapolis crashed in a central Illinois field on Tuesday, killing all seven people on board, including Illinois State University's associate head basketball coach and a deputy athletics director.

Rescue personnel found no survivors at the site near the city of Bloomington, and a coroner pronounced the seven occupants dead, McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage said at a news conference.

The Cessna 414 twin-engine aircraft took off from Indianapolis and crashed just short of the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington after midnight, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating, but there was no initial word on the cause of the crash. News photos from near the scene showed dense fog.

The airport was open and all systems, including its runway lighting, were functioning, though the tower had closed several hours earlier and handed responsibility to an air traffic control facility in Peoria.

Radar contact was lost moments before the crash and a search was launched when the pilot failed to close out his flight plan. It took about three hours to find the wreckage.

Jason Jones, a former basketball and baseball player for Illinois Wesleyan University who worked at Wells Fargo Advisors, also died, said his wife, Lyndsey Jones.

The Associated Press was not able to confirm the identities of the other three people on board.

Bittner's father-in-law, Scott Barrows, said he had a regular and experienced pilot for the 10-seater aircraft.

A woman who answered a phone listing for Scott Bittner said she was a family friend and refused to comment beyond asking for privacy.

Bittner lived with his wife and two children in Towanda, a small village just outside Bloomington, his co-worker Wertz told the AP. He owned a meat processing plant in Eureka, Illinois, carrying on the family's line of work after his dad established another plant in the small city of Chenoa, where Bittner grew up.

Bittner had traveled to Indianapolis for the NCAA tournament using his dad's plane, which he primarily used for business trips, Wertz said.

The aircraft was registered to Make it Happen Aviation LLC of Towanda, Illinois.

Investigators work in a thick fog at the site of small plane crash near Bloomington, Ill., Tuesday, April 7, 2015, that has claimed the lives of seven people. The Cessna 414 took off from Indianapolis and crashed just short of the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington after midnight. The plane was returning from the NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
Emergency personnel and media gather at the scene near Bloomington, Ill., where a small plane, with at least five on board, crashed early Tuesday, April 7, 2015. The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna 414 crashed just short of the Bloomington airport after midnight Tuesday while returning from the NCAA basketball championship in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
A McLean County sheriff's deputy mans a roadblock at the scene near Bloomington, Ill., where a small plane crashed with at least five on board crashed early Tuesday, April 7, 2015. The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna 414 crashed just short of the Bloomington airport after midnight Tuesday while returning from the NCAA basketball championship in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, David Proeber)
McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis arrives at a news conference concerning a plane crash on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, in Bloomington, Ill. A small private plane returning from the NCAA college basketball tournament in Indianapolis crashed in a central Illinois field killing all seven people onboard. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)
Central Illinois Regional Airport executive director Carl Olson and McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis answer questions concerning a plane crash on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, in Bloomington, Ill. A small private plane returning from the NCAA college basketball tournament in Indianapolis crashed in a central Illinois field killing all seven people onboard. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)
McLean County Sheriff's Department Sheriff Jon Sandage and McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis answer questions concerning a plane crash on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, in Bloomington, Ill. A small private plane returning from the NCAA college basketball tournament in Indianapolis crashed in a central Illinois field killing all seven people onboard. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)
Towanda Community Fire Protection District Chief Chief Brett Lueschen, left, speaks with McLean County Sheriff's Department Sheriff Jon Sandage, center, McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis and Deputy Coroner John Nafziger following a news conference concerning a plane crash, Tuesday, April 7, 2015 in Bloomington, Ill. A small private plane returning from the NCAA college basketball tournament in Indianapolis crashed in a central Illinois field killing all seven people onboard. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)
Pub II waitress Maddie DeGaealu and long time customer and friend Ken Hoffacker embrace while comforting each other in the Normal, Ill., bar, after learning that co-owner Terry Stralow is one of seven killed in the crash of a small aircraft east of Bloomington, Ill., Tuesday, April 7, 2015. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)
Pub II waitress Amanda Leggett, left, and Emily Schroeder cry prior to decorating the exterior of the downtown Normal, Ill., bar in memory of co-owner Terry Stralow, one of seven people killed in the crash of a small aircraft, near Bloomington, Ill., on Tuesday, April 7, 2015. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)
In a June 22, 2005 photo, Scott Bittner, owner of Bittner's Eureka Locker, processes beef at his business in Eureka, Ill. On Tuesday, April 7, 2015, the Chicago Tribune quoted Scott Barrows as saying his daughter's husband Scott Bittner, 42, of Towanda, Ill., was among the seven people killed when the small plane they were in crashed in a central Illinois field near Bloomington early Tuesday, April 7, 2015. The Cessna 414 twin-engine aircraft took off from Indianapolis and crashed just short of the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington after midnight, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The plane was returning from the NCAA Final Four tournament. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, Carlos T. Miranda)
FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2013 file photo, Illinois State associate head basketball coach Torrey Ward, right, and head coach Dan Muller smile after an NCAA college basketball game against Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. Illinois State University President Larry Dietz confirmed in an email to students, faculty and staff Tuesday, April 7, 2015, that Ward was one of seven people killed when the small plane crash they were in crashed in a central Illinois field near Bloomington early Tuesday, April 7, 2015. The Cessna 414 twin-engine aircraft took off from Indianapolis and crashed just short of the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington after midnight, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The plane was returning from the NCAA Final Four tournament. (AP Photo/Matt Marton, File)
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