Seven dead in airplane crash after NCAA Final Four Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington, Illinois
Besides Bittner and Stralow, the victims were identified as Aaron Leetch, 37, ISU deputy director of athletics for external operations, and Torrey Ward, 36, associate head coach of the Redbirds men’s basketball team; Thomas Hileman, 51, the pilot; Andy Butler, 40, a regional representative for Sprint; and Woodrow "Jason" Jones, 45, a senior vice president/investment officer with Secord-Jones Wealth Management Group. A private airplane returning from the NCAA men's basketball championship crashed early Tuesday on approach to a central Illinois airport, killing all seven on board, including two members of Illinois State University's athletics department. The airplane had left Indianapolis about an hour before it crashed roughly 2-1/2 miles from its destination, the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington, Illinois, about 160 miles to the west, officials said. Torrey Ward, 36, the associate head coach for Illinois State's men's basketba...