Fire in the sky - plane in your backyard

Witnesses say they saw a fireball. Investigators say the twin engine Piper Aerostar hit the ground so hard, it's making it very difficult to determine exactly why it crashed.
The small plane, its pilot and a passenger had just taken off from Aurora's airport when it went down in a Sugar Grove subdivision.

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The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.

CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports investigators were out all day Sunday gathering whatever clues they could from the large debris field.

In the light of day, anyone can see just how close it was for the Sugar Grove family that lives at the house. Debris from the plane, including a seat and a wheel from the landing gear, lie charred just yards away from the home. No question, say investigators, that the plane hit the ground at a high rate of speed.

"There aren't too many large pieces left of the aircraft," said Pam Sullivan of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Neighbors called for help after spotting a "fireball" and responded around 7 p.m. to a home in a wooded area near Route 47 and Old Oaks Road, accoridng to Kane County Sheriff's Lieutenant Pat Gengler.

The plane had descended from the Aurora Municipal Airport -- about two miles away -- about 7 p.m., Gengler said.

Officials say the plane left the Aurora Municipal Airport at 6:52 p.m., headed to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Denver, the Naperville Sun is reporting. The plane had arrived in Aurora on Friday from Addison Airport in Dallas, according to flight records. Before that, the plane had been to several locations in Texas, including El Paso International Airport, in recent days.

A spokesman for the Sugar Grove Fire Department confirmed the department was on the scene as of 7:20 p.m.

Instead, pieces of the plane scattered all over the yard. One made a hole in the family's garage and started a car on fire. Sugar Grove's Fire Chief Marty Kunkel lives right down the street and said he was on the scene in less than a minute.

He saw the car in flames as well as several other fires burning in the yard. He also helped make sure the family of four, at home at the time of the accident, got out of the house. They have been displaced and are staying with family members who arrived on the scene.

Kunkel believes the plane was in trouble before it hit the ground.

"I heard a loud engine noise which seemed very unfamiliar to me living around here, in these weather conditions I knew it didn't seem quite right," Kunkel said. "But about 15, 20 seconds after that I heard a very loud impact explosion."

Another resident told his son he heard the plane fly over his house twice before crashing to the ground.

So what caused the crash? Sullivan said there's no way to tell right now.

Local officials say there was little warning.

"As far as we know, there were no distress calls," said Gengler.

Sullivan says the pilot and his passenger, identified as 38-year-old Gary Lee Bradford of Hollywood, Fla. and 32-year-old Drago Strahija of Lakeworth, Fla., were headed to Denver when the plane went down.

Sullivan said Bradford was instrument-rated, meaning he was certified to fly using only his instrument panel to guide him. Sullivan said only Bradford appeared to have a pilot's license.

Gengler said the two victims were on a personal trip and stayed overnight Thursday night in Aurora.

No one else was on the plane, Gengler said.

The aircraft was registered to a Hollywood, Fla., based coporation in Broward County called ENS Corp., according to an FAA Web registry. Strahija identified himself as an employee of the corporation, described on its Web site as an IT company specializing in network development, the Sun-Times confirmed by checking corporate voicemail.

There was some fog in the area, but no one is speculating on whether weather played a role in the crash. Gengler says there was a power line down somewhat near the scene but he doesn't know if that was a result of or contributed to the crash.

The family in the nearby home got out of the house safely. At last check, they were staying with relatives.

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