South Dakota Governor Killed With 7 Others in Plane Crash

A plane carrying South Dakota Gov. George Mickelson crashed Monday while trying to make an emergency landing at the Dubuque airport, killing the governor and seven other people, officials said.

The Iowa governor’s office said the plane, en route from Cincinnati to Pierre, S.D., developed engine trouble and slammed into a grain storage silo and barn about 15 miles southwest of Dubuque, bursting into flames.

Dick Vohs, an aide to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, said the airplane’s passenger list included Mickelson.

Mickelson had been governor since 1986. The others on board the plane were civic leaders and state officials.

One victim was identified by the Iowa Highway Patrol as Roger Hainje, director of the Sioux Falls, S.D., Development Foundation, said Janelle Toman, Mickelson’s press secretary.

Toman said he was on the plane, a Mitsubishi turboprop registered to South Dakota’s Transportation Department.

“The pilot reported a lost engine and lost pressurization. The aircraft then was handed off to the Dubuque tower for clearance to land. It was the nearest location,” Campbell said.

“It was cleared to land. About a minute after the last transmission, the Dubuque tower reported to the sheriff the aircraft was down on the ground,” she said.

Heavy rain was reported in the area at the time, but the FAA said it had not determined if it was a factor in the crash.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were en route to the crash site.