The identity of an 84-year-old man who ended up dead after a plane he was piloting crashed onto a busy street in Beecher, Illinois, has been released. The Will County Coroner’s Office, in the accident reports shared on Monday, June 8, named the victim as John E. Van Kalker, a resident of Crete.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Will County Sheriff officials responded to the accident just after 12:35 p.m. on Monday. As stated in the reports, Kalker was operating a small single-engine aircraft when it suddenly crashed near the 2000 block of West Offner Road. The elderly man did not survive the plane wreck. WCSO officials failed to disclose if anyone else was on board the airplane when the crash happened. Additional details regarding the accident are pending.
Have you or a loved one been involved in an accident? Speak to a lawyer for a free no obligation consultation
Or call us at (888) 699-7975
An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, headed by the FAA and the WCSO. Updated accident reports would include new findings from the investigation.
Unlike road travels, airliner accidents rarely occur and are mostly preventable. Some of the major causes of plane crashes include mechanical or electrical failure, unfavorable weather conditions, airliner collisions, or human error due to negligence.
Pilot errors make up for 50 percent of aircraft accidents and often result from failure to implement certain programmings before take-off or during flight. In most cases, a combination of causes leads to the accident, making it out of the control of the flight operator.
It is, therefore, vital to ensure all aircraft engines undergo routine checks before and after take-off.
Disclaimer: The Safety Watch article you just read includes information obtained from numerous sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, websites and press releases from law enforcement, the county coroner, fire departments, and other news outlets. While we strive to provide readers with the most accurate information, sometimes the information received is not entirely accurate. For complete details, please refer to an official police report.
The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Safety Watch’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.