The airplane was destroyed when it collided with terrain while maneuvering at approximately 1723 Central time. The flight instructor and private pilot aboard were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed for the post-maintenance flight. One witness heard the airplanes engine “wind up hard.” He later said, “I turned to look at the plane, and it looked like it fell to the ground in a 45-degree angle-the plane disappeared behind a row of trees-then I saw a ball of smoke [and] heard it hit the ground.” The witness also stated that he heard an airplane making “circles” around the airport before the crash but he was not sure it was the accident airplane. Several other people heard the airplane flying in the vicinity of the airport and reported hearing the airplanes engine “missing” or “cutting out.”
