‘It just went right across the road,’ 911 callers report deadly Champaign County plane crash

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY — Dispatchers got one 911 call after another from people who witnessed a deadly plane crash in Champaign County on Friday.

The plane crashed in the area of Hickory Grove Road and U.S. 68, according to the patrol. Martin Beerman, 68, of Sandusky was killed in the crash.

Beerman was flying from Port Clinton to Cincinnati in his single engine plane when he crashed about 45 minutes after takeoff.

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“I just saw a plane crash,” one caller told dispatch. “It just went right across the road in front of these cars in front of us.”

Another caller described the scene to dispatchers saying the plane was “in pieces everywhere.”

“There’s people out in the field trying to look for people,” the caller said.

The debris field from the crash shows the plane appeared to be flying from east to west and hit power lines and crashed across U.S. 68, before coming to a stop in a field to the west of U.S. 68.

The the cause of the crash is still under investigation at this time by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

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