Joseph R. Scallon,Braden Hicks Obituary, Death; – The individuals who lost their lives in the private plane crash in Anderson, Indiana, have been officially identified. The flight, which took off from Fort Dodge Regional Airport on Friday morning, resulted in the deaths of four people, as confirmed by Madison County Coroner Adam Matson.
The victims are Joseph R. Scallon, 68, from Iowa Falls; “Owen” James Renaud, 19, from Alden; Jesse H. Ostheimer, 31, also from Alden; and Braden Hicks, 36, from Manson. Braden Hicks served as a private flight instructor at Fort Dodge Regional Airport. Rhonda Chambers, the airport’s director of aviation, remarked that while Hicks was not a city employee, he was a cherished member of the airport community and will be deeply missed.
The single-engine Piper PA-46 took off from Fort Dodge at 6:48 AM and crashed near Anderson Municipal Airport-Darlington Field, located northeast of Indianapolis, at 9:52 AM Eastern Time.
The aircraft was owned by Okoboji Air LLC, which is registered to Scallon with the Iowa Secretary of State. Chambers noted that the plane was not usually stationed at Fort Dodge Regional Airport. Emergency responders from the Madison County Sheriff’s Department arrived at a cornfield near the airport around 10 AM, where they discovered the aircraft engulfed in flames.
Captain Darwin Dwiggins of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department reported that during the plane’s initial approach to the airport, the pilot was advised that they were too high and needed to alter their course for another approach. Witnesses indicated to authorities that the aircraft appeared to be attempting to return to the airport when it suddenly “flipped over” and nosedived into a cornfield, subsequently igniting.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are currently conducting an investigation into the incident. Chambers expressed condolences, stating, “Our hearts go out to the families and the individuals tragically killed in yesterday’s plane crash.”
