Plane crashes in field

A small plane crashed Monday afternoon just outside of Knox City, Mo., killing two passengers and severely burning another.

The single-engine homemade plane crashed into a field and caught fire at about 3:35 p.m., according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Knox County Coroner Jeff Doss pronounced Minnesota resident Kimberly Woltjer dead at the scene of the crash, and Gene Underland and Richard Woltjer, Kimberly's husband, were taken from the scene by Air-Evac helicopter to a hospital in Quincy, Ill.

Underland died Wednesday after sustaining burns over 60 percent of his body, The Associated Press reported.

Knox City resident Bobby Mauck said he was working on a corn planter close to where the plane crashed when he noticed it flying low.

"I saw this plane, and it went to circle, and I told my son and another guy, I said, 'That plane's not going to make it. It's looking for a place to land," Mauck said. "… About that time, it just took a nosedive."

Knox City Mayor John Nicol said the plane to land safely.

"They tried to make an emergency landing, and one of the wings hit the ground, and it tipped the plane over, and … it exploded," Nicol said.

The Woltjers and Underland were in flight back to their home city of Spicer, Minn., from Florida when they crashed about 45 minutes east of Kirksville.

Tom Russell, aviation safety inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, said EMS personnel responded to the crash within a matter of minutes.

"It was pretty darn quick," he said. "Some of the photos we were able to obtain [showed] the event had just occurred."

After being airlifted to Quincy, both Underland and Richard Woltjer were transported to St. John's Hospital Burn Center in Springfield, Ill. Richard Woltjer is in stable condition in Springfield.

The Federal Aviation Administration conducted an investigation Tuesday and released custody of the plane, Nicol said. Russell said the FAA still is investigating the crash.

Russell said Air Traffic is researching any communication the pilot might have had with air traffic controls.

He said it could take up to a month for the FAA to determine the official cause of the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board also examined the wreckage Tuesday, according to the Highway Patrol.

Mauck said the FAA advised him not to discuss events that happened at the scene. But the passengers were severely injured immediately after the plane hit the ground.

"We were the first ones there," he said. "You're going to have to do something, aren't you?"

The plane was a kit airplane, the Seawind 3000, Russell said. In April 2007, at least five amateur-built, experimental airplanes were involved in fatal crashes, according to the NTSB aviation accident database.

The Seawind 3000 homekit is no longer manufactured, according to a spokesman for Seawind who asked to remain anonymous. About three years ago, the company stopped selling the homekits and began selling certified planes, he said.

Additional reporting by Kalen Ponche.