Two separate Easter Sunday plane crashes kill five people in eastern Iowa

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating two separate plane crashes that killed a total of five people in eastern Iowa on Easter Sunday. The first crash happened around 2:30 Sunday afternoon in Fayette County. Sheriff’s officials say a small single-engine aircraft was in the process of taking off from the West Union airport when it suddenly crashed in a nearby field and engulfed in flames. The plane’s pilot — 28-year-old Andrew Bryan of Maynard — and two passengers — 37-year-old Connie Stewart and her daughter, 11-year-old Sarah Stewart, both of West Union — all died in the crash. A third passenger — 8-year-old Karen Stewart, also of West Union — was thrown from the plane. She was flown to University Hospitals in Iowa City for treatment of severe burns. Records show the plane was owned by Greg Bryan of Westgate, father of the deceased pilot. The second crash occurred in Johnson County, southwest of Iowa City. Authorities say two people were inside a bi-plane that flipped end-over-end and crashed nose-first into a field near Hills. The pilot and passenger were both killed in the crash, but officials haven’t released the victims’ names.