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Pilot identified in fatal crash near Iowa Falls airport
Associated Press
Jul. 15, 2010 4:40 pm
Police in Iowa Falls have identified 74-year-old Henry Klemme as the pilot in a fatal plane crash.
Authorities say Klemme was attempting to land his aircraft, commonly known as a "kit" airplane, at the Iowa Falls Municipal Airport runway Thursday afternoon, but it crashed a few dozen yards short of the strip.
Witnesses said it sounded as if the engine had died. They watched the plane nose-dive into a neighboring soybean field. When emergency workers arrived, the plane was engulfed in flames.
Firefighters worked with witnesses to pull Klemme from his aircraft, and Iowa Falls Police Chief Ron Kuhfus says the pilot was pronounced dead at the scene, and likely died immediately upon impact.
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