Passenger killed in southern Illinois plane crash

A passenger was killed and the pilot seriously injured in a private plane crash in southern Illinois on Saturday.

The Centralia Police Department was notified by a resident that a small aircraft had crashed into their swimming pool.

The Marion County Coroner said conversation between first responders and the pilot indicated that the 1948 Beechcraft lost power and began losing altitude. Neighborhood witnesses confirmed the aircraft going down without engine power.

According to the flight tracking app Flight Aware, the plane took off at 11:20 a.m. from Marshall County Airport in Lacon, Illinois, and was heading for Centralia Municipal Airport.

Police presumed the pilot used what little control remained in order to hit the pool, to soften the impact of the crash.

The coroner said the passenger, identified as 56-year-old Cheryl Monceret LaGreca of Lacon was dead at the scene.

The pilot, 66-year-old Glenn Rossi, also from the Peoria area, was airlifted to a regional hospital for treatment.

The Federal Aviation Administration is in charge of the crash investigation.