Pilot Struggled To Control Plane Before Crash Near Indy: Report

ROSSVILLE, IN -- AP News reports the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says in a preliminary report for the Feb. 22 plane crash northwest of Indianapolis that the pilot, Nathan Saari, told an air traffic controller that the plane was "out of control." According to AP News, Saari told the air traffic controller this shortly after the Cessna 441 Conquest Turboprop took off from Eagle Creek Airport in Indianapolis, on its way to Green Bay, Wisconsin. AP News adds that the report says the pilot also reported control problems to a controller in Chicago.

The plane crashed just north of the small town of Rossville, about 60 miles outside of Indianapolis, killing the pilot and two passengers.

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John T. Pagel, owner of Kewaunee, Wisconsin-based Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, and his son-in-law, Steven Witcpalek were identified as those who died along with Saari.

During the crash investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration put a three-mile radius no-fly zone around the area of the crash for nearly two days after the incident.

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