Plane crash in Sandwich under investigation

By NORTHERN STAR STAFF

Two people were killed in a plane crash in Sandwich on Saturday.

According to a news release from the DeKalb County Office of the Coroner, Randall Hougham, 53, and Lauren Hamilton, 22, both of Sandwich were pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m. by DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller at the scene

The small, 1946-era single-engine aircraft being piloted by Hougham crashed into a cornfield just north of the Sandwich Airport on the west side of Sandwich. The plane caught fire on impact just before 2 p.m.

According to the Associated Press, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said the investigation will take several weeks.

Family members describe Hougham as a family man, who worked in construction. He had restored the vintage plane which family members said had once belonged to his grandfather, according to the AP.

The accident is being investigated by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, the DeKalb County Coroner’s Office, the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA.