Plane crash south of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh kills 2 on first day of event

Update: The victims were identified by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office July 24 as Sean Tommervik, 37, of El Paso, Texas, and James Sullivan, 32, of Nashville.

TOWN OF NEKIMI – Two people have died after a plane crashed in a farm field about 2 miles south of the EAA AirVenture grounds Monday afternoon.

Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release the crash was reported by the air traffic control tower at Wittman Regional Airport at 12:15 p.m. Monday, the first day of the 71st AirVenture event. The crash was reported to be in the area of Old Knapp Road and Nekimi Avenue.

Crews from the sheriff’s office, Oshkosh Fire Department, Nekimi Fire Department and First Responders, Van Dyne Fire Department, Wisconsin State Patrol and members of the National Transportation Safety Board responded to the scene, where they discovered the plane was fully engulfed in fire.

Brian Bradley, owner of the field where the crash happened, was just relaxing at home when all of a sudden his agronomist, Dennis Klumpers, called him and told him to call 911.

Klumpers explained he had just finished scouting the field for weed control and insects, walked away, heard a pop sound and turned his shoulder to see flames.

"It's not something you see every day," Klumpers said. "I didn't hear engine problems and it didn't sound like they were trying to land in the fields."

Klumpers said he didn't hear any pleas for help, nor did he see anyone trying to get out of the downed plane.

Bradley has lived on the lands his entire life and has never experienced something like this before.

Everything to know about EAA AirVenture: Everything to know about EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024, from admission to air show schedules and more

The sheriff’s office confirmed two occupants were on board the plane, and both had died. Their names were being withheld pending notification of family.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by NTSB , which responded to the scene by 2 p.m.

No further details were immediately released.

The 71st EAA AirVenture Oshkosh runs July 22-28 at Wittman Regional Airport, 525 W. 20th Ave., Oshkosh. For more information, go to https://www.eaa.org/airventure .

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Plane crash south of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh kills 2 on first day of event