Authorities identify pilot killed in plane crash
NEW PHILADELPHIA – Authorities have identified the pilot who was killed in an April 1st airplane crash in Mill Township.
Tuscarawas County Coroner Jeff Cameron says 62-year-old Orville J. Evans of New Philadelphia was piloting the plane. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
DNA testing confirmed his identity. The coroner’s report says Evans’ death was accidental and caused by blunt trauma with thermal injury.
In a separate press release, New Philadelphia Post Commander Lt. Johnnie Maier says a preliminary investigation is complete, but the cause of the crash is still under investigation. He says the 1973 Cessna 310Q fixed wing multi engine plane did not have a flight data recorder.
It had taken off from Harry Clever Field in New Philadelphia that Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. and crashed around 5:08 about four miles away in a farm field just across the Tuscarawas River from Five Waters Golf Course. Maier says Evans was the plane’s only occupant.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are still investigating.
OHIO STATE HIGHWAY PATROL MEDIA RELEASE
Update – New Philadelphia Post fatal plane crash investigation
New Philadelphia – The New Philadelphia Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal plane crash that occurred just after 5 p.m. on April 1, 2025, in Mill Township, Tuscarwas County, Ohio.
The preliminary investigation revealed a 1973 Cessna 310Q fixed wing multi engine plane was reported to have crashed in a farm field in Mill Township at 5:08 p.m. The aircraft was reported to have taken off from Harry Clever Field Airport at 4:40 p.m. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
The Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office has conducted DNA testing and has identified the single plane occupant. The pilot was identified as Orville J. Evans, 62, of New Philadelphia, Ohio.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration continue to review evidence as to the cause of the plane crash.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office, the New Philadelphia Fire Deparment, the Warwick Township Fire Department and the Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office.
The incident remains under investigation.