Kassandra Darnell

Online: One dead after small plane crash near UIndy

One person is dead following a small plane crash just south of the University of Indianapolis

Tuesday afternoon. At about 3:45 p.m., Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers

responded to reports of a small plane crash on Weaver Avenue along the railroad tracks,

according to IMPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Genae Cook.

When IMPD arrived at the scene, along with the Indianapolis Fire Department, officers found

one person inside the plane who was pronounced dead at the scene, Cook said. The person’s

identity is still yet to be released, but the information on the plane will assist investigators in

identifying who was flying the plane at the time, Cook said.

Investigation of the scene is expected to commence this evening, with the National

Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducting the

investigation with the IMPD’s cooperation, Cook said. The FAA will be able to determine the

plane’s flight pattern and other relevant information. The IMPD Mobile Command Unit arrived

just before 6 p.m. and began picking through the wreckage.

“This is gonna be a long process. It's not going to be something that's going to be done in an

hour. Every little piece is going to have to be logged and noted during the investigation. And

with everything else going on … the coroner's office will be involved,” Cook said. “We're
grateful that the plane did not injure anybody else and obviously grateful that it did not come

down on anyone's residence right in that area or the school.”

At the scene, police had taped off the intersection of Weaver Ave. and Edwards Ave. where

UIndy students and neighborhood residents gathered in an attempt to get a closer look at the

wreckage. All that remained of the plane was a pile of debris sitting next to the railroad tracks,

with other remnants scattered in the foliage behind one of the homes in the neighborhood.

Senior exercise science major Blake Ellis was running on East Little Piney Drive with his

teammates on the track and field team when he and two others saw the plane flying low to the

ground. He did not see or hear the plane crash, he said.

“We were doing our warmup, our two-mile warm-up, and about almost a mile into our warm-up

a few of us guys saw a plane in the sky,” Ellis said. “It looked like it was coming in pretty hot.

Looked to be diving down at about a 35 to 40 degree angle. I wasn't sure if it was about to crash

or what but it was pretty crazy.”

As a result of the crash, a train was forced to stop on the tracks, according to Cook. All trains in

the area have been stopped and will not be able to travel on those tracks until the investigation is

complete.
Investigators currently do not know if anyone else was involved but have determined there are

no outstanding threats to the neighborhood. Cook asked that anyone in the neighborhood provide

the police with any Ring camera footage or other video that could assist the investigation.

Those with information or videos of the incident should contact IMPD by calling their

non-emergency line at 317-327-3811.