BRODHEAD - What began as an average trip home from work for Melanie Zweifel turned into an experience she will never forget.
She's seen planes land and take off from the Brodhead Airport before. As she traveled home from work, she wasn't prepared for what she saw Monday.
Zweifel was halfway home from Riverview Clinic in Janesville on Monday when she saw a plane operated by Dennis R. Trone, 77, crash into a field north of the airport's runway. Trone was killed in the crash.
"I was alone in my car, but I said 'Oh, my God.'"
Zweifel said she was across the road from the runway when she saw the plane pass over, as if it was preparing to land. She said she saw its wings bank to the right, then the plane nose-dived into the ground.
"It was shocking to see," Zweifel said. "It just went straight to the ground."
Zweifel immediately called 9-1-1, and as she made the call, she saw a vehicle and a couple of people run to the crash site.
"I knew it couldn't be good," she said.
Trone, who lived in Petersburg, Ill., was familiar with the airport and the runway. According to Richard Weeden, Brodhead, who sometimes flies out of the airport, Trone was one of 50 people who have a hangar at the airport.
Trone was flying a one-engine amateur-built airplane at the time of the crash, according to the Green County Sheriff's Department. He was the plane's lone occupant.
The National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, the sheriff's department and Green County Coroner's office continue to investigate the crash.
Green County Coroner Jan Perry said Trone died of multiple injuries as a result of the accident.
Experienced pilots at Monroe Airport didn't want to speculate Tuesday as to what might have caused the crash, but they said if the engine stopped, the plane would have dropped.
However, they said if the plane is high enough in the air, an experienced pilot could maneuver the plane so the wings would create an air flow to help the plane glide to a landing.
Zweifel said the plane was a little above the treetops when it crashed.
Weeden said amateur-built airplanes are common and very safe.
The last plane crash at the Brodhead Airport took place in August 2005 when a single-engine plane operated by Robin Bolsey, 54, Edgerton, crashed into a vehicle driven by Margie Pribble, 61, Brodhead.
The airplane's landing gear struck the top of Pribble's vehicle, breaking the back window.
Bolsey sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
She's seen planes land and take off from the Brodhead Airport before. As she traveled home from work, she wasn't prepared for what she saw Monday.
Zweifel was halfway home from Riverview Clinic in Janesville on Monday when she saw a plane operated by Dennis R. Trone, 77, crash into a field north of the airport's runway. Trone was killed in the crash.
"I was alone in my car, but I said 'Oh, my God.'"
Zweifel said she was across the road from the runway when she saw the plane pass over, as if it was preparing to land. She said she saw its wings bank to the right, then the plane nose-dived into the ground.
"It was shocking to see," Zweifel said. "It just went straight to the ground."
Zweifel immediately called 9-1-1, and as she made the call, she saw a vehicle and a couple of people run to the crash site.
"I knew it couldn't be good," she said.
Trone, who lived in Petersburg, Ill., was familiar with the airport and the runway. According to Richard Weeden, Brodhead, who sometimes flies out of the airport, Trone was one of 50 people who have a hangar at the airport.
Trone was flying a one-engine amateur-built airplane at the time of the crash, according to the Green County Sheriff's Department. He was the plane's lone occupant.
The National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, the sheriff's department and Green County Coroner's office continue to investigate the crash.
Green County Coroner Jan Perry said Trone died of multiple injuries as a result of the accident.
Experienced pilots at Monroe Airport didn't want to speculate Tuesday as to what might have caused the crash, but they said if the engine stopped, the plane would have dropped.
However, they said if the plane is high enough in the air, an experienced pilot could maneuver the plane so the wings would create an air flow to help the plane glide to a landing.
Zweifel said the plane was a little above the treetops when it crashed.
Weeden said amateur-built airplanes are common and very safe.
The last plane crash at the Brodhead Airport took place in August 2005 when a single-engine plane operated by Robin Bolsey, 54, Edgerton, crashed into a vehicle driven by Margie Pribble, 61, Brodhead.
The airplane's landing gear struck the top of Pribble's vehicle, breaking the back window.
Bolsey sustained non-life-threatening injuries.