COLUMBUS, OHIO — A small plane crashed into a retention pond Saturday, killing two people near the village of Beverly in northern Washington County.

The victims were identified Monday as Umamaheswara Kalapatapu, 63, who was piloting the plane, and Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu, 61. Both are from Logansport, Indiana.

Their remains were recovered early Saturday afternoon. A dive team from Little Hocking combed the underwater crash site for nearly two days and the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Marietta post investigated and secured the area.

They turned over the scene to the National Transportation Safety Board early Monday, Sgt. Garic Warner said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating.

The Piper Archer PA-28 went down near a defunct American Electric Power plant sometime Saturday morning, likely between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The private aircraft was headed to Parkersburg, West Virginia, from an airport north of Indianapolis but never arrived at its scheduled time of 10:30 a.m., Warner said.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office searched local airports and the plane was eventually reported missing around noon.

The Highway Patrol discovered the wreckage at about 2 p.m. with assistance from Beverly Fire and EMS. The West Virginia Wing Civil Air Patrol said the plane lost radar contact at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Mr. Kalapatapu was issued a private pilot certificate in May 2004 and was up-to-date on his medical certificate, according to an FAA online database. He was a psychiatrist in the Warsaw branch of Bowen.

Source: Columbus Dispatch