LIVE UPDATES: One dead in Purdue Aviation plane crash

6:30 p.m.

The plane with N-sign N564PU, owned by Purdue Aviation, which appears to have crashed near Otterbein, is a small four-seat 2002 Piper Warrior.

Robert Lu, a graduate student in civil engineering who has his pilots license, told an Exponent reporter at the crash site that he had flown the plane recently before the crash.

Lu called the flight path of N564PU up until the crash "unusual."
5:43 p.m.

Chief Deputy Terry Ruley of the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office confirmed there is a body "in or around" the aircraft. Police are waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation and Safety Board to start the investigation.

When asked if it was weird that Purdue Aviation didn't report the accident until Friday afternoon, Ruley said, "well, this doesn't happen very often."
Ruley said police will release more information later.

5:22 p.m.

Tippecanoe County Sheriff Robert Goldsmith said one person has been confirmed dead. The plane went missing Thursday around 8 p.m. but police were reportedly not alerted until 3:30 pm. Friday.

5:13 p.m.

According to publicly available flight radar, a plane with N-number N564PU apparently flew back and forth in an erratic manner near where the missing Purdue Aviation plane apparently crashed.

The Exponent has been unable to confirm if N564PU is the missing plane.

The missing Purdue plane apparently flew back and forth near Otterbein before going missing about 8 p.m. Thursday.

4:33 p.m.

A crashed plane has been located in a field near the corner of U.S. 231 and W 750 North.

4:18 p.m.

U.S. Coast Guard representative Jonathan LeBeau confirmed a plane was found crashed Friday, but its unclear if its the missing Purdue Aviation plane.

A representative of the sheriff's department at the search area told an Exponent reporter that police "don't know anything."

3:48 p.m.

A Purdue Aviation plane is reportedly missing after taking off from the Purdue airport Thursday night.

Tippecanoe County Sheriff Robert Goldsmith said the Purdue Airport contacted police after a plane associated with the university "went missing" while in the air about 8 p.m.

It's unclear whether the plane has crashed, Goldsmith said, but a search area has been established around West 600 North and U.S. 231 in Shelby Township, Indiana.

The plane was reportedly flown by a "commercial pilot" and not a Purdue student, according to police scanner chatter.

John Davis, the associate head of undergraduate affairs at the Purdue aviation school, said the investigation is ongoing.

The story will be updated as more information becomes available.