1 dead after plane crash southwest of Bloomington

One person died Friday night when a small plane crashed about two miles south of the Monroe County Airport.

About 8:15 p.m., several people called 911 and told the Monroe County Dispatch Center that a plane had gone down in a wooded area near Tower and Ison roads, according to a Friday night news release from the Indiana State Police.

When emergency personnel reached the crash scene southwest of Bloomington, the single-engine fixed-wing plane was on fire. Firefighters from the Van Buren Fire Department extinguished the blaze.

The plane's sole occupant was pronounced dead at the scene by the Monroe County coroner, the release said. The victim's name is being withheld until proper identification and notification of next of kin can be made.

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The orange plane icon in the map below shows the site of the crash.

The state police are currently assisting the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board with the crash investigation. Any determinations made relating to the cause of the crash will be released by the federal agencies after a thorough investigation.

UPDATE: In a Saturday news release, Monroe County Coroner Joani Stalcup said an autopsy was performed on the plane crash victim Saturday morning in Terre Haute. Because of the fire's impact on the remains, officials will be waiting on DNA tests to confirm the identity of the person who died in the crash, she said. The cause and manner of death are still being investigated.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana State Police investigating fatal plane crash near Bloomington