Plane Flying from Fort Dodge Crashes in Indiana with No Survivors

Details Emerge as Authorities Investigate Fatal Plane Crash

Update: August 22, 2023

A small plane flying from Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Indianapolis, Indiana, crashed in a cornfield in rural Pulaski County, Indiana, on Monday evening, killing all five people on board, according to the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office.

The victims have been identified as the pilot, 54-year-old Robert Axtell of Fort Dodge; his wife, 52-year-old Mary Axtell; their son, 24-year-old David Axtell; and two friends, 23-year-old Sarah Johnson and 22-year-old Michael Brown, both of Des Moines.

The plane, a single-engine Cessna 172, crashed around 7:30 p.m. in a field near the intersection of County Roads 500 North and 1000 East, about 10 miles southwest of Winamac, Indiana.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the crash. The agency said in a preliminary report that the plane was flying at an altitude of about 1,500 feet when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed.

The crash is the second fatal plane crash in Indiana in less than a month. On July 22, a small plane crashed in a field in Dubois County, killing the pilot and two passengers.