Members of the Windsor Flying Club are mourning the loss of one of their own and are puzzled why 45-year-old Michael Callan died Tuesday morning after his plane crashed in Nashville.

Club president, David Gillies says Callan did quite a bit of flying.

“He had his wings since 1989," says Callan. "He had a night rating. He was in his mid-40's and well, he had been around. He had done quite a bit of flying."”

Investigators say the wreckage went unnoticed for nearly six hours at Nashville International Airport until another flight crew spotted it.

They confirm the Cessna flew out of Windsor on Monday with a flight plant to Pelee Island, but crashed in Nashville early Tuesday morning,

The landing strip at Pelee Island is not staffed 24 hours.

Safety investigator, Jay Neylon, says at this time the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are gathering as much information as possible to try to determine what went wrong.

“One of the purposes of this investigation is to investigate the man, machine and environment of the situation," says Neylon.

Neylon says fog in Nashville that morning might have played a factor.

He adds a preliminary report on the basic facts is expected in ten days, but a more thorough investigation could take up to a year.

Questions arise about pilot

The RCMP confirm the pilot involved in the crash was born on July 26, 1968 and court records show a Michael Callan with the same birthdate has a criminal past.

Sources and documents obtained by CTV News on Thursday show a criminal record in Windsor stretching back to the 1990s.

More recently, the same Michael Callan faced charges in connection with a massive province-wide child pornography bust in early 2012. Callan eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of mischief in the case.

According to documents, jail time was served but Callan was issued three years of probation.

Authorities would not confirm whether the deceased pilot and the man with the criminal record are the same person.

Meanwhile experienced local airmen are questioning how anyone could cross international borders unnoticed.

Calls to U.S. Homeland Security to ask if they are investigating how the plane flew in the U.S. undetected were not returned.