ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – George King, 55, and Amanda Youngblood, 35, were tragically killed in a plane crash on Saturday night in St. Charles County. Both victims were from Ohio, and officials say they were the only passengers on the flight.

The Beechcraft Baron BE58 went down in a rural part of St. Charles County near Defiance. The plane had no cargo other than the two pilots and was only nine minutes into the flight. Their flight was destined for Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colorado where they were set to pick up cargo. 

After reaching an elevation of 8,000 feet, the plane began to descend quickly and came down in a wooded area. Investigators are unsure as to the cause of the crash since neither pilot made a distress call and there was no black box on the plane. A doorbell camera located about a third of a mile away from the crash site serves as some of the best evidence for investigators. 

More investigation into the pilots’ training and experience as well as autopsies and toxicology reports are yet to be conducted and released. However, both pilots were experienced with over 1,000 hours of professional flying logged. 

“We’re going to try to keep an open mind with any factor that could have been relevant to the accident,” said Mike Folkerts, air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. “Because our goal is to prevent the next accident, so we try to keep as broad a perspective as we can…we’re going to look at all the components that are feasible.”

The wreckage of the plane was spread over 300 yards. Although precipitation made investigation of the wreckage difficult, the wet weather fortunately prevented the surrounding area from catching fire.

It is estimated that a full investigation of the crash could take between a year to 18 months.