AUBURN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Ohio State Highway Patrol has identified the pilot killed in a plane crash in Auburn Township overnight.
Troy Bankert, 55, of Middlefield Township, was operating a 1967 Piper Cherokee Arrow when the aircraft disappeared and lost all contact Tuesday night.
Bankert's girlfriend called authorities just after 4 a.m. Wednesday to report that it had been a few hours since she'd heard from Bankert. She said Bankert was flying a small prop airplane, and her last tracking recorded the plane making an abrupt turn over Ladue Reservoir.
The Federal Aviation Administration used sonar and radar to locate a general area where the plane had crashed. Crews spent two hours Wednesday morning searching for the wreckage, and found it in a wooded area near the southeast corner of the reservoir around 9 a.m.
Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand said during a news conference that the four-seater plane was found in "lots of pieces."
Flight records show that Bankert's plane left the Wayne County Airport at 11 p.m. and crashed around 11:55 p.m.
Bankert died on impact, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. His body was recovered from the crash scene and his family was notified.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.