TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (KMOX) - The pilot of the twin-engine plane that crashed in a residential area of central Illinois is being called a hero.

Investigators say 30-year-old Brandon Sparrow of Augusta died on impact, Saturday morning, when his aircraft went down in Taylorville.

They say Sparrow must’ve realize there was a problem with the plane and began dumping fuel in preparation for a hard landing.

Sparrow’s 12 passengers, all skydivers, got out of the plane safely before it hit.

Investigators say it looks like the pilot purposely steered to avoid houses, and brought the craft down in a yard.

our earlier story:

TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (KMOX) - There’s one death reported in a twin-engine plane crash near the Taylorville airport in central Illinois.

WTAX Radio’s Alex Degman says the plane went down in a yard of a residential area Saturday morning around 11:30.

The pilot was killed in the crash. His name has not been released.

The plane was carrying a dozen skydivers. All of them reportedly survived.

The FAA and NTSB will be investigating the incident.