Authorities continue investigation into crash of plane

KOELTZTOWN, Mo. -- Authorities continued Tuesday to attempt to identify two people killed when a plane crashed near this mid-Missouri town on Saturday.

Osage County Sheriff Carl Fowler said officials had recovered some personal effects, but not enough to draw a specific conclusion about who was aboard. The victims' remains were taken to the coroner for DNA testing, Fowler said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that the plane's pilot apparently did not make any distress calls before the crash.

The single-engine propeller plane, which had left the Lee C. Fine Airport in Osage Beach for South Bend, Ind., went down about 4 p.m. Saturday in a heavily wooded area.

The seven-passenger plane was traveling at an altitude of about 14,700 feet when it turned about 20 degrees, said NTSB investigator Todd Fox. Radar contact was lost with the airport at 13,000 feet.

The wreckage is being reconstructed at Linn State Technical College.

A final report on the accident won't be released from the NTSB for a year.