The latest:Pilot and second passenger identified in deadly Indiana plane crash

Just six minutes after a private jet carrying prominent architect and Louisville soccer club co-founder Wayne Estopinal and two others lifted off from a Southern Indiana airfield Friday morning, people heard the explosion.

The Chicago-bound jet had lost contact with air traffic controllers and attempted to return to the Clark Regional Airport just before it crashed in a wooded area around 11:30 a.m., roughly 16 miles north of Louisville, authorities said.

There were no survivors.

Authorities began sifting through small pieces Friday afternoon that lay scattered among blackened trees. Police had not identified the other two victims as of 7:30 p.m.

The death of Estopinal, 63, head of TEG Architects — and an influential figure who helped design University of Louisville sports facilities and bring Louisville City FC to the city — rocked the local business and sports communities.

“This is a terrible tragedy for our city and community,” said Mayor Mike Moore of Jeffersonville, the Indiana city where Estopinal was a lifelong resident and business owner.

Related:Wayne Estopinal, dead in Indiana plane crash, leaves lasting impact

National Transportation and Safety Board investigators and police were examining the wreckage for answers as to what caused the crash, a process that could take weeks or longer. Officials said they didn’t know if a black box was present.

No severe weather was reported in the area at the time of the crash. Winds were light from the east at 5-6 mph with low clouds, and there was no rain, said Ryan Sharp, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Louisville.

The Cessna Citation jet took off at 11:24 a.m. for Chicago’s Midway airport. The plane was owned by EstoAir LLC, a company based in Jeffersonville and managed by Estopinal, officials said.

The plane turned back for the airport shortly before it crashed near the 2600 block of Crone Road, which is near Memphis, Indiana, said Clark Regional Airport Manager John Secor. He said Estopinal was a pilot but was not flying the plane.

It wasn't clear how the plane went down. Secor said the 300-yard debris field indicated that the plane did not break up in air but was torn apart when it hit the wooded area.

What we know:The latest on the Indiana plane crash

Bill Waldock, professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, looked at pictures of the crash site and said it appears to have hit the ground at a relatively high angle and relatively high speed and that it does not appear that it was an in-flight breakup.

Waldock listened to some of the air traffic control chatter around the time of the crash. That audio appears to show a normal takeoff for the Cessna. A few minutes later, though, he said he heard a Louisville air controller reach out and ask the plane to call back. There is only silence.

Police used ATVs and four-wheel-drive vehicles to reach the crash scene. Few large pieces of the plane remained intact. “There’s no (pieces of) what people would recognize easily as an aircraft back there,” Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel said.

"It's certainly a tragic event," Noel said near the scene of farm fields and wooded areas. "Please keep the family of the victims in your prayers."

Read this:A closer look at the type of jet involved in the Indiana plane crash

Nearby resident Mike Martel said he heard a “a boom” that shook his house, then he saw a billow of charcoal-colored smoke. Another neighbor said it sounded “like a bomb dropped.”

“It shook the house and freaked me out,” said Joshua Emery, 46, a night shift factory worker. “I went out back and saw smoke.” He hopped on his ATF and rode to the back of his family’s property to get a better view of the crash site.

The crash came the same week that Estopinal was appointed by Indiana’s governor to another term on the board of trustees at Ball State University, his alma mater, in Muncie.

The flight was headed to Chicago, where Ball State is being recognized this weekend as the Indiana Society of Chicago Foundation’s Institution of the Year. Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns and other administration staff were in Chicago for an alumni event Friday night.

Estopinal, a founding member of Louisville City FC, invented the Esto Retractable mound that allows the team to play soccer at Louisville Slugger Field. He also was the president of TEG Architects, a Jeffersonville firm known for planning health care facilities.

“We would not be the club we are today without his innovation, leadership and hard work, and his contributions to the community are something for which we are incredibly grateful," LouCity President Brad Estes said. "Our hearts are with Wayne’s family and loved ones at this time."

See also:Wayne Estopinal, dead in Indiana plane crash, leaves lasting legacy

Courier Journal reporters Allison Ross, Billy Kobin, Maggie Menderski, Beth Warren, Alfred Miller, Morgan Watkins and Grace Schneider contributed reporting. The Muncie Star-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, contributed.

Chris Kenning: 502-582-4307; ckenning@courier-journal.com. Support local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.