At least nine members of an Idaho family — including two children — returning from a weekend hunting trip were killed when their single-engine plane crashed in a South Dakota cornfield amid a harsh winter storm, officials and reports said.

Twelve people, ranging in age from 7 to 81, were aboard the Pilatus PC-12 heading to Idaho Falls Saturday, when the aircraft went down around 12:30 p.m., within a mile after takeoff at the Chamberlain Municipal Airport.

Three men, ages 28, 27 and 17, managed to escape the wreckage and were being treated at local hospitals, Brule County emergency manager Katheryn Benton told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

Authorities hadn’t identified any of the victims by Sunday, but relatives told East Idaho News that brothers Kirk and Jim Hansen Jr., their father Jim Hansen Sr. and six other family members died in the crash.

The Hansens were executives with Conrad & Bischoff, Kyäni and KJ’s Super Stores in Idaho, according to the outlet. The plane was registered to Conrad & Bischoff Inc.

Federal investigators had yet to reach the crash site on Sunday because of harsh wintry weather.

The National Transportation Safety Board said three investigators were stuck in Sioux Falls, about 140 miles east of the site. Local authorities are guarding the wreckage, with federal investigators expected to arrive by Monday.

A cause for the crash hasn’t yet been determined. The area was under a winter storm warning at the time, with limited visibility.

The Hansens were active in the Idaho Falls community, and Jim Sr., and his sons served in prominent positions with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Jim Sr. was asked to lead a bunch of rowdy, ill-behaved 16-year-old boys in the neighborhood church. I was one of them,” Darin Skidmore recalled to the Idaho Statesman. “Over the years, Jim Sr. always kept track of me and made time for a conversation… Most people will never know just how much good the Hansen family has done.”

“The city of Idaho Falls is a better place because of them … ” Skidmore said. “I believe God puts people like them on the earth to help people like me and you. The loss of these great men will never be recovered.”

Tony Blakeslee, who attended church with Jim Sr., called the crash “tragic and unreal.”

The owner of a local candy company, Kevin Call, said the loss of the Hansens was “heartbreaking.”

“They were our good friends,” Call said. “Their influence in the community and church will be heavily felt. They weren’t showy, but quiet, heavy contributors.”

With Post wires

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