LINCOLN, Ill. (WAND) - The NTSB has released more information about the plane that crashed and caught fire in Logan County on Tuesday.
The crash happened around 8:49 a.m. in the southbound lanes of Interstate 55 at Milepost 126 in Logan County. Three people on the plane died at the scene.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was a single-engine Cessna 172.
The NTSB said the tail number of the plane is N157SF and is registered to a JAD-AKD LLC out of Bloomington. According to public records, the plane is owned by Austin Dustman. Dustman is the owner of Synergy Flight Center.
According to the NTSB, there was no flight path submitted and the plane was not tracking.
This is a photo of the exact plane that crashed on Tuesday on I-55 SB in Logan County. (Provided Photo/Synergy Flight Center)
It's not clear if anyone from Synergy was on the plane when it went down. The Logan County Coroner has not yet released the names of those who died.
The plane was fully engulfed in flames upon impact in the middle of the interstate, ISP said in a press release. Multiple agencies responded to the site to assist.
Witnesses said smoke from the plane could be seen from miles away.
Security video from Becks Gas Station showed thick smoke just minutes after impact. Employees working inside said they didn't hear anything. Just minutes later they saw the smoke and smelled it.
“I had a customer come in he had a hazard vest on and yell call 911 because a plane crash had gone down and they were extreme flames. So I called 911,” said clerk Dorothy Hupp.
The southbound lanes were closed for about five hours as the crash was investigated.
In 2018, a small plane had to make a crash landing on the interstate in Lincoln. That crash happened on July 11, 2018. A pilot made the crash landing and clipped a car on I-55 at the 132.5 milepost. No injuries were reported.