At least two dead in Ohio after business jet hits buildings
By Kim Palmer
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The pilot and co-pilot of a business jet died after their plane, possibly with passengers on board, hit two residential buildings while approaching an Akron, Ohio, airport on Tuesday afternoon, local media and authorities said.
Ohio State Highway patrol confirmed the deaths of the pilot and co-pilot, and police were investigating if there were more fatalities, according to Ohio State Highway patrol spokesman Lieutenant Bill Haymaker.
The Akron Beacon Journal reported that the owner of the plane had said there were seven passengers on board. This could not immediately be confirmed.
The 10-passenger plane struck a residential building at about 3 p.m. (2000 GMT), engulfing it in flames, said Haymaker. Then the plane hit an embankment and another residential building, Haymaker added. A utility wire was also hit.
No names were provided.
No one was at home in either building at the time of the crash, and there were no other injuries reported on the ground, Haymaker said.
The accident involved a Hawker H25 business jet, and the National Transportation Safety Board will be in charge of the investigation, according to FAA Spokesman Tony Molinaro.
The jet had been approaching the Akron Fulton Airport, Molinaro said.
Akron-based utility FirstEnergy Corp said the crash caused a power outage for 1,500 customers around the airport.
"It appears that the plane clipped a couple of lines," said Mark Durbin, a FirstEnergy spokesman.
(Reporting by Kim Palmer in Cleveland and Mary Wisniewski in Chicago; Editing by G Crosse and Sandra Maler)
