Father and son killed when their plane crashes on way home from a Cardinals game

A father and son were tragically killed Thursday night when their plane crashed on their way home from a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.

Jimmy Don Lewis and his son, Brayden, of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, were returning from a jaunt to see the Cardinals take on the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium when their plane went down with storms in the area.

Jimmy, 48, was flying the Beech 95-B55 with his 22-year-old son on board from St. Louis Regional Airport in Illinois to Siloam Springs Municipal Airport in Arkansas, when it crashed in a field in Monroe County in Waterloo, Ill., according to KSDK News.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims’ family and loved ones. Our thoughts and prayers remain with them during this incredibly difficult time,” the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Investigators believe the plane crashed just before 11 p.m. on Thursday.

A rescue team on the ground and in the air — which included law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS personnel and drone operators — began searching for the aircraft around 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning. But due to rain and poor visibility, the team was not able to locate it until 7:40 a.m.

Based on preliminary flight data, “the aircraft appeared to begin a turn, possibly in an attempt to avoid the storm, before entering what appeared to be a descending spiral. Radar contact was subsequently lost,” the sheriff’s department said.