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Pilot Dead After Small Plane, Owned By Rob Sherman, Crashes In Marengo

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The small plane that crashed in Marengo, killing the pilot, was owned by a well-know political figure from suburban Chicago.

The plane's owner is Rob Sherman, from Poplar Grove.

He's been a congressional candidate, national spokesman for the American Atheists and a board member of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Schaumburg, WBBM's Mike Krauser reports.

The plane's tail number, provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, matches the tail number on Sherman's home-built Zenair CH601, a light, single-engine 2-seat aircraft.

A source told WBBM that Sherman had been flying last night and never made it to an event at the Schaumburg Airport.

The wreckage, barely resembling an aircraft, was discovered this morning in a corn field in Marengo.

Crews received a call around 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, after someone spotted wreckage around Meyer Road just north of Pleasant Grove Road.

The FAA said the pilot was the only person on board. Authorities have not identified Sherman as the pilot yet. An autopsy is schedule for Monday.

The NTSB says an investigator has done an initial examination of the plane and it was being moved to a secure area indoors and a team would assemble on Monday for further investigation and documentation.

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