1 Dies When Small Plane Crashes In Hardin County

MT.VICTORY, Ohio—The Ohio State Highway Patrol has confirmed one person has been killed in a plane crash south of Mt. Victory on S.R. 31.

Around 6 p.m. Saturday, a small plane crashed near the Plaza Inn near the Hardin-Union county line, killing the pilot.

Apparently, the pilot was attempting to land a plane at a landing strip behind the Plaza Inn, not an official airport.

The Hardin County Sheriff said the pilot is from Clark County.  A pilots’ organization identified the man as Dr. Wilhelm Kalweit of Springfield.  The 56 year old cardiologist had been flying for 15 years and was returning to Ohio from Canada where he had had equipment installed on his plane.

His wife, Suzanne,  said the only consolation in her loss was knowing Dr. Kalweit was doing something he loved. The couple has a twelve-year-old son, according to the pilots’ group.

The owner of the Plaza Inn restaurant also owns the landing strip, which sits in a field about 200 yards from the restaurant.

The owner has run the airstrip for 19 years. This was the first fatal crash in said years, according to one of the restaurant employees.

The airstrip is listed as non-lit and is 3,000 feet in length.

The plane is a twin-engine rear propulsion photography plane with ‘high wings,“ according to the airstrip owner.

Restaurant owner also said he knew the pilot because he occasionally a stopped in for a meal at the restaurant.

No further details were immediately available.

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