Flight data shows what was happening with plane before fatal crash in Madison County
A single-engine plane circled near a Madison County airport multiple times before it crashed on Saturday, causing the death of a Florida man and injuring an Edwardsville man.
According to FlightAware flight tracking data, the aircraft traveled southwest after leaving the Eagle Creek Airport in Indianapolis, Indiana, and flew to Madison County.
The two pilots then circled five times at the St. Louis Metro-East/Shafer Field Airport destination in the 30 minutes prior to the crash at 11:30 a.m. Their plane also gained and dropped in altitude multiple times before the crash off Keck Road near St. Jacob.
Robert L. Binger, 60, of Lake City, Florida, died in the crash. Buck E. Martin, 39, of Edwardsville, was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Here are additional details from FlightAware flight tracking data from Saturday:
- At 8 a.m. Central time, the Piper PA-24 Comanche took off from St. Louis Metro-East/Shafer Field Airport in Madison County and arrived at Eagle Creek Airport in Indiana at 9:14 a.m.
- The plane left the Indiana airport at 9:29 a.m.
- While arriving at its Madison County destination, the aircraft was at an altitude of 1,725 feet at 10:40 a.m
- At 10:50 a.m., the aircraft was at 825 feet while going 87 mph.
- The aircraft did not go below 79 mph and maintained an altitude under 1,125 feet for 40 minutes before the crash.
Binger was the registered private co-owner of the Piper PA-24-250 which was manufactured in 1958, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The other name on the aircraft’s registration is Tammy Binger, whose relationship to Robert Binger was not immediately available.
FlightAware, an aviation company, posted information online on the path of the flight on Saturday. FlightAware provides real-time positions and predictive flight tracking for aircraft flying over land worldwide.
The weather conditions on Saturday morning were rainy and overcast, according to television station KSDK.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.
This story was originally published July 7, 2022 at 5:06 PM.