By STEVE EIGHINGER
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
CANTON, Mo. — A federal investigation is under way to determine the cause of the Wednesday plane crash that killed two southern Illinois men.
Federal Aviation Administration representatives arrived Thursday to begin the preliminary portion of a fact-finding mission into the crash of a 1956 Piper-23-150 — commonly referred to as a "Piper Apache" — in a rural pasture about 2 1/2 miles southwest of Canton. The crash site was west of 314th Avenue.
Killed in the crash were the two occupants of the plane, John R. Johnson, 74, of Carbondale, and Carl S. Maiden, 47, of DuQuoin.
Tony Molinaro, a spokesman for the FAA's Central Region, which encompasses Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas, said no determination has been made on which of the two men was piloting the aircraft.
"We're still trying to determine the cause of the crash," Molinaro said. "There was no (bad) weather at the time of the accident."
He also said the plane did not have a flight plan.
FAA registry records indicate the plane was owned by Johnson. The Piper Apache is a relatively small fixed-wing, multi-engine craft.
Molinaro said once the FAA has finished gathering information, it will be turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board, which will ultimately determine the cause of the crash.
"The NTSB will probably release some sort of preliminary report in a week or so, but it could take up to nine months for the final report to be completed," he said.
NTSB officials out of the agency's Chicago office will be handling the investigation. The Chicago office is one of nine NTSB regional and field offices.
The Mattoon (Ill.) Journal-Gazette and Times-Courier reported that the Missouri State Highway Patrol said relatives of Johnson and Maiden indicated the two men took off from an airport in Pinckneyville, Ill., and were en route to an antique air show in Blakesburg, Iowa.
Lewis County Sheriff's Department officials remained at the site of the crash throughout Thursday. The crash site is about 10 miles from Lewis County Regional Airport, but it is not known whether the plane was trying the land at the facility.
Both Johnson and Maiden were members of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Marion, Ill.
Jak Tichenor, the senior producer at WSIU Public Television in Carbondale, said he had known Johnson off and on for 20 years through their involvement in the EAA and described him as a "nice guy who loved antique airplanes."
"He always had a smile," Tichenor said. "He was very friendly, and he was always willing to help other people with their projects. He was extremely sharp. He was one of the smartest people I ever met."
Johnson was retired from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He worked in information technology at the university for almost 20 years, retiring in 2003.
"He was an avid aviator," said Charlie Rodriguez, an aviation lecturer at SIUC. "He had been aviating for literally decades, probably 50 years or something. ... His real passion was aviation."
Rodriguez said he did not know Maiden well but was aware he was also a fan of all things aviation.
"(Maiden), too, was an avid aviator," Rodriguez said. "He was always hanging around the airport and couldn't get enough of airplanes."
— seighinger@whig.com/221-3377
Editor's note: This story has been updated since its original posting.
An official with the National Transportation Safety Board is on the scene of the small-plane crash near Canton, Mo., on Thursday. (H-W Photo/Steve Bohnstedt)
The wreckage of a Piper Apache lies in a rural pasture Friday southwest of Canton, Mo., a day after it crashed, killing two southern Illinois men. (H-W Photo/Steve Bohnstedt)
