Indian couple killed in Ohio plane crash

BEVERLY, OH — An Indian American couple from Indiana died when a small plane crashed into a retention pond in southeastern Ohio.

The State Highway Patrol said on July 10 that the 63-year-old pilot, Umamahesware Kalapatapu, and his 61-year-old wife, Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu, were the only ones on the Piper Archer PA-28.

The plane carrying the Logansport, Indiana, couple crashed on July 8 near the Washington County village of Beverly, about 75 miles southeast of Columbus.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu was a contract psychiatrist at the Bowen Center in Warsaw, Indiana. He has worked there since 1993.

The Bowen Center offered condolences to the Kalapatapu family: “It is with great sadness we have been informed about the loss of Dr. Kalapatapu and his wife. We offer our condolences to friends & family.”

Authorities said the last contact with the plane headed to an airport near Parkersburg, West Virginia, from Cass County, Indiana, was around 10:30 am on July 8 morning. It was reported missing about noon.

Searchers found the wreckage in the afternoon of the same day.