NORTHWOOD, Iowa – Authorities identified the two victims of Saturday’s plane crash as Henry and Beth Manwarren of Merced, Calif.

Tuesday, July 24, 2001

NORTHWOOD, Iowa – Authorities identified the two victims of Saturday’s plane crash as Henry and Beth Manwarren of Merced, Calif.

According to Worth County Sheriff David Gentz, the elderly couple was en route to an air show in Oshkosh, Wis. when their single-engine plane went down in a bean field just north of Grafton. The couple died instantly, he said.

Henry Manwarren, 72, was a certified pilot with over 3,000 hours of flight time, Gentz said. Manwarren had no record of previous accidents.

Gentz said the cause of the crash has not been determined, but a storm with lightning and high winds that passed through the area about 1:20 p.m. may have played a role. Investigators pinpointed the time of the crash to 1:22 p.m.

&uot;Speculation is weather would’ve been a major contributor,&uot; Gentz said at a Monday press conference.

Gentz said investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration are looking into the possibility that Manwarren may have rerouted the plane toward Mason City.