Small airplane transporting male patient from West Palm Beach to Chicago area crashes, kills three

SUBURBAN RIVERWOODS, ILL. - A small airplane transporting a male patient from West Palm Beach to the Chicago area crashed late Monday night, killing three of the five people aboard, The Chicago Tribune is reporting.

Authorities say the plane went down just before 11 p.m. Monday in Riverwoods, about 25 miles northwest of Chicago.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory says that the pilot reported having fuel trouble just before the crash. The flight was en route to a regional airport.

Among the dead was the patient, 80-year-old John Bialek of suburban Streamwood, and his wife, Ilomae, 75, authorities told the Tribune.

The Bialeks were seasonal residents of South Palm Beach and have owned property in Palm Beach County since 1984, according to county records.

Lake County Coroner Artis Yancey says the third victim is 58-year-old William Didier, who is believed to have been the pilot.

The plane was owned by Trans North Aviation. Trans North President Ron Schaberg says the plane was carrying a patient, the patient's wife and a flight paramedic, in addition to the pilot and a pilot-trainee.

The two crash survivors were reported in stable condition Tuesday.

Nobody on the ground was injured.

Read a full report here: http://trib.in/vufLXh

The Associated Press  and Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Cynthia Roldan contributed to this report