Plane Burst Into Flames Upon Impact

Two people suffered fatal injuries in a single-engine airplane crash Thursday night at the Joliet, IL Regional Airport (JOT).The deceased were identified by the Will County Coroner's Office as Stuart D. Seffern, 50, and his longtime partner Deborah A. Loiselle, 52, both of Madison, WI.

Autopsy results indicate the couple died from blunt head and chest trauma, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Reports indicate the pilot was attempting to land on runway 12, when it went down near the end of the runway, close to Joliet Fire Station 7. The plane burst into flames upon impact, but was extinguished in "a matter of moments," according to Joliet Fire Battalion Chief LaRoy Aldridge.

"After that, we waited for the OK from the NTSB and FAA before we got the coroner's approval to extract the two bodies," he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration registry indicates that Seffern had only recently purchased the airplane, a 1992 Lancair 360.

Weather observations at the time of the incident show prevailing winds were from 210 degrees at 8 knots.

The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash, one of a number of seemingly unrelated Lancair accidents occuring to multiple different types of the high-performance kit series.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.ntsb.gov