Three members of a western Iowa family, flying in a small private plane to Florida for a cruise, were killed when the plane crashed Saturday in southeast Missouri. The pilot was 49-year-old Randy Weber of Charter Oak. Also killed, his 37-year-old wife, Amy, and their ten-year-old son, Tyler.
Sheriff Gary Schroeder, in Washington County, Missouri, says his deputies reached the wreckage of the Piper Cherokee in the Mark Twain National Forest near the town of Viburnum. Schroeder says: "We secured the scene, making sure that none of the debris had been tampered with and also we assisted with the recovery of the bodies. Periodically, we will assist the NTSB with their investigation in various aspects, debris removal and things like that."
Investigators say bad weather may’ve played a role in the crash. Weber, who was a district director of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, radioed he’d had zero visibility and strong headwinds just before the crash. Sheriff Shroeder says it was very cloudy and raining when the plane went down, about 8:45 A.M. Saturday.