Four people were killed in a plane crash Friday night in Guthrie County after a heart attack, local authorities said.

The Guthrie County Sheriff's Office was called around 5 pm of Des Moines Air Traffic Control requesting the emergency landing of a single-engine aircraft at the airport east of Guthrie Center. The plane has never arrived.

Air Traffic Control told local authorities that the pilot, Edward Ralph Anderson, 49, from Le Mars, had suffered a heart attack and that a student pilot was trying to land from the airport. emergency, while two additional passengers were present.

The plane left Le Mars in northwestern Iowa at 4:15 pm and was traveling to Osceola, said Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright. Traffic control reported that the aircraft had dropped its radar about 4 miles southwest of Guthrie County Airport.

The sheriff's office has launched extensive search for the aircraft, with the help of more than a dozen police, fire and rescue agencies. More than 13 hours later, on Saturday morning, a citizen reported a small plane crash in a pasture located southwest of the intersection of 265th Street and Maple Avenue. in Guthrie County.

There, the authorities found the sinking of the plane, which, according to the sheriff's office, "was hit very hard." Pieces of the plane were scattered nearby.

The other victims were identified Saturday as Patrick Kellen, 36, and Samantha Clark, 15, both from Le Mars, and Tyler Douvia, 28, from Merril.

In a brief interview, the pilot's father, James Anderson, said his son was a pilot for more than 15 years. He was carrying the three people on a hunting trip, he said.

"My son really liked to fly," James Anderson said Saturday, shocked by the news.

Tom Mullally, director of the March Municipal Airport for 18 years, said that he had seen Edward Anderson, a good friend of his, take the plane on Friday. It's a coincidence that there is a student pilot on the plane, he said.

"What has happened is heartbreaking," said Mullally, who joined the search efforts when news of the missing plane has spread.

The bodies of the four were transported to the office of the Iowa Medical Examiner. The crash site has been secured pending an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Check back for updates.

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