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Anonymous ID: 9901c4 March 4, 2020, 6:59 a.m. No.8315769   🗄️.is đź”—kun

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Police in Illinois confirmed Wednesday that former Springfield Mayor Frank Edwards and Sangamon County Coroner Cinda Edwards were victims of a plane crash Tuesday.

 

The third victim was identified as 69-year-old John Evans. The Edwards’ dog, Lily, also perished in the crash.

 

The three were aboard a twin-engine Piper Aerostar that went down shortly after 3 p.m. in a field between Springfield and Rochester. The plane was heading toward Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport.

 

In a news conference Tuesday, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said that the Federal Aviation Administration control tower reported to sheriff’s deputies that the pilot communicated that he was having problems with “weather and instruments.”

 

The FAA returned to the scene of the crash Wednesday morning. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to arrive Wednesday afternoon to begin a full crash investigation, Campbell said.

 

According to flight logs tracked by global aviation company FlightAware, the plane took off from Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport in Florida around 9:33 a.m. Tuesday, arriving at Huntsville International Airport in Alabama around 12:18 p.m. The plane then took off at 1:02 p.m.

 

The plane is owned by LKJ Properties, a limited liability corporation based in Springfield.

 

Frank Edwards, submitted photo, Nov. 2014.

Frank Edwards, 69, served on the Springfield Fire Department for 25 years before he retired in 2002, having served his final 19 months as chief. He was Ward 1 alderman on the Springfield City Council from 2003 to 2015 – except for the few months he served as mayor after the December 2010 death of Mayor Tim Davlin. He also ran for mayor last spring, losing a bid to unseat Mayor Jim Langfelder.

 

Cinda Edwards, 63, was a nurse and Lincoln Land Community College trustee when she was appointed county coroner in 2011.