Pilot killed after small plane crashes neighborhood in Poplar Grove, Illinois identified

POPLAR GROVE, Ill. (WLS) -- The pilot of a small plane who died after it crashed into a residential neighborhood in Boone County has now been identified.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

Richard C. McClung, 83, of Rockford, Illinois was killed after his plane crashed Saturday in Poplar Grove, Illinois, the Boone County Coroner said Wednesday.

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The pilot was the only person onboard the plane, officials said.

The crash happened around 4 p.m. Saturday on Springmeadow Drive in Poplar Grove, village officials said. The village is about 80 miles northwest of Chicago.

The exact cause of the crash was not yet known. A Whittman Tailwind airplane was involved in the crash, the NTSB said.

Residents were shocked to hear and see the collision right near their homes.

"I just heard a noise and a loud bang, and I just saw a whole bunch of people running," resident Jayden Gallegos said. "My heart was beating pretty fast, and I didn't know what to really do."

The crash caused some damage to a fence as well as some gas lines, forcing the evacuation of some people in the neighborhood at the time.

"Out of an abundance of caution nearby residents were evacuated due to the active natural gas leak," local fire official Joseph Prokop said. "The scene remains active and we ask the public to kindly avoid the area.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the NTSB and the Boone County Sheriff's Department are investigating, officials said.