ANDERSON, Ind. — The Federal Aviation Administration released its initial crash report on Friday's deadly small-engine plane crash in Anderson.
Capt. Darwin Dwiggins, with the Madison County Sheriff's Department, said it could take months, even years, for the full investigation to be completed.
On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Madison County Coroner's Office released the names of the victims of the crash:
- Joseph R. Scallon, 68, of Iowa Falls, Iowa
- “Owen” James Renaud, 19, of Alden, Iowa
- Jesse H. Ostheimer, 41, of Alden, Iowa
- Braden W. Hicks, 36, of Manson, Iowa
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are now looking into what went wrong Sept. 6. Meanwhile, a young wife in Iowa is grieving the loss of her husband.
"I don't know where to start," Megan Hicks said. "He was great. He was my best friend. He was a great dad."
Megan and Braden Hicks married in 2016. Together, they had a son, James, who is now 5 years old. Megan says the love for the sky runs strong in her small family.
"My son has it," Megan said. "I am a student pilot. We have our own aircrafts. That's a big legacy, and it'll be a big legacy to fill."
Braden was on board the plane that crashed Friday around 10 a.m. Witnesses told investigators it "flipped over" in the sky before nosediving into the field below.
"I don't know that I know what I am feeling still," Megan said. "Half my heart is not here."
Megan says the four men on board were flying into the Anderson Municipal Airport from Fort Dodge, Iowa, to check out a new plane at Indy Air Sales.
"That's where he got our first airplane was from Indy Air Sales," Megan said.
Braden, whose wife says never knew a stranger, never made it back home.
"Day by day, it's never going to get easier," Megan said. "At some point, it'll just get a little less hard. I have fantastic people who have just surrounded me and showed up in ways I didn't know I needed."
When the two started dating in 2013, Braden told Megan he would get his pilot's license someday, she says.
Years later, in 2021, he did.
"After that, it was kind of history," Megan said.
In 2023, Braden became a fully licensed flight instructor, working out of Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
"Just kind of took off," Megan said. "That first taste is kind of all you need sometimes."
Now, Megan says she finds peace in knowing James is a spitting-image of his father.
"We talked about on Friday, Daddy traded his plane wings for angel wings," Megan said. "I told my son when he told me he misses his daddy that I would miss him every day for the rest of his life."
Megan says her family believes in "angle wings," and her husband, who was known for leaving surprises, has already appeared several times, Megan says.
"My dad and my son went down to do the chickens the other day, and there was a big white feather," Megan said. "I said, 'that's daddy's angle wing.'"
As the wait for answers continues, Megan says she hopes other families will cherish their time with loved ones.
"There are never too many I love yous," Megan said. "There are never too many kisses goodbye. Celebrate. Celebrate everything. Take the videos. Take the pictures. What I wouldn't give to be able to hear his voice. Never quit doing the things that you love. If you find something that lights your sole up, keep doing it, no matter what."
Braden Hicks was just 36 years old.
"There's just something about seeing the clouds from the topside that I know he'll never get tired of," Megan said.