Pilot killed in small plane crash near St. Clair County airport

A 51-year-old pilot was killed in a small plane in St. Clair County, officials said Thursday.

St. Clair County Sheriff's Office deputies were alerted just after midnight that a plane was overdue at the St. Clair County International Airport.

Deputies searched the immediate area of the airport property, then widened that search and found a twin-engine model crashed at a softball field on Yager Road, east of Wadhams Road, in Kimball Township.

The pilot, identified as Stephan Maisonneuve of Ottawa, Ontario, was the only person on the aircraft. His name wasn't immediately released. The plane, a 1981 Cessna model 340 twin engine, suffered extensive damage.

Tri-Hospital EMS and Kimball Township Fire and Rescue assisted at the scene of the crash.

Officials from the FAA & the NTSB are on site trying to figure out exactly what caused the plane to go down. The investigation could take several months to complete