Springfield pilot’s daughter says he did what he could to avoid fatal crash in Tenn.

The daughter of the Springfield couple involved in a fatal airplane crash said the aircraft’s engine failed while flying 200 mph over Tennessee.

David Maxwell was flying a Beechcraft 35-A33 Debonair with his wife, Vicki Maxwell, from Venice Municipal Airport in Venice, Fla., on Tuesday, bound for Grimes Field in Urbana.

The couple crashed in Scott County, Tenn. Vicki Maxwell died and David Maxwell was injured.

>>MORE: Springfield man in Tennessee plane crash in stable condition

Their daughter, Erin Patton, has spoken with her father about the crash. She believes rescuers tried their best to find the crash site but they were looking in the wrong area.

“They were about a mile in the wrong direction,” Patton said.

David Maxwell did everything he could to prevent the crash, Patton said, including sending an SOS that was received by the Scott County Airport.

He was trying to land the plane safely there when it crashed about two miles from the airport.

For the full story, go to SpringfieldNewsSun.com.

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