A commercial airplane that spiraled down and crashed on Thursday night, resulting in the deaths of a father and son returning from a baseball game, reportedly experienced a malfunction in its weather tracking system, as disclosed by grieving family members.
Jimmy Don Lewis, 48, was flying a Beechcraft Baron 55 with his 22-year-old son, Brayden Ty Lewis, when the plane dove during a severe storm and went down in rural Illinois.
Kelsey Lewis, who had flown earlier with her father and brother, mentioned that the malfunction might have influenced their decision to fly directly into the storm that night. The plane’s tracking system had been down for about 30 minutes, misleading them into thinking they could navigate through an opening in the weather before landing safely, Kelsey explained.
The aircraft lost contact shortly after takeoff from St. Louis Regional Airport around 10:48 p.m., with investigators estimating the crash occurred around 11 p.m.
Kelsey stated that the small jet had been airborne for 22 minutes before the tragic event.
She described her father as an experienced pilot who would never willingly risk flying into dangerous weather conditions. “My dad was very, very careful about everything when it came to airplanes,” she noted.
Preliminary flight data suggested that the aircraft might have entered a downward spiral after attempting a turn, possibly to evade the storm, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
The family had traveled to Illinois earlier that day so Kelsey and her fiancé could fetch their new car, and they had watched a St. Louis Cardinals game before planning their return to Arkansas.
Kelsey expressed that she felt unusually anxious about her father and brother’s flight as the storm approached. “That night, for reasons I don’t know, I was checking the status of the plane,” she shared.
When the plane failed to arrive in Arkansas, the family began to reach out to find out “where they were” and why they hadn’t landed.
The aircraft was last detected near Waterloo, Illinois, prompting the Lewis family to contact local authorities.
They reached out to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and were asked to come into the station. “Deep down, my mother and I knew something was wrong,” Kelsey recalled sorrowfully.
After a long wait with no news, the sheriff delivered the devastating update at 10:30 a.m. that Jimmy and Brayden had been found deceased.
“We made a discovery at 7:51 this morning: an airplane and two bodies,” Kelsey recounted from what the sheriff’s office said.
As Kelsey processes her incredible loss, she remembers her father and brother as generous individuals who were always willing to lend a hand. “Neither of them would want to see either of us get hurt,” she remarked.
Flying was a shared passion for Jimmy and Brayden, who earned their pilot’s licenses together.
Kelsey reflected on their close relationship, saying, “My dad and my brother, they were…oh, they were thick and thin and did everything together.” Flying trips included destinations like Branson and the hot springs in Arkansas.
In their memory, Jill and Kelsey plan to establish the Lewis Memorial Athletic Scholarship at Kansas High School, where Brayden was the quarterback and Jimmy an active community member.
