Pilot reported engine issues as plane that crashed in Anderson Twp. went down, feds say

As the airplane that crashed in Anderson Township was going down, its pilot advised air traffic control that the aircraft was having engine issues, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement Saturday.

Officials said four people, all occupants of the plane, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries as a result of the crash, which was reported around 8:44 p.m. Friday at Eight Mile Road near the Old Kellogg Road intersection.

The plane − a Piper PA-32-300 single-engine, passenger aircraft manufactured in 1969 − crashed into trees behind a house on Eight Mile Road, officials said. No other injuries have been reported.

The flight was scheduled to take off from the Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport at 8:07 p.m. and land around 8:38 p.m., according to the tracking website FlightAware. It traveled northeast of Cincinnati, reaching an altitude of more than 4,000 feet, before it circled back.

The plane made at least six flights between Aug. 25 and Aug. 30, all of which either landed at Lunken or the Warren County Airport, and lasted no longer than 33 minutes, the aircraft's flight history shows.

Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane is owned by Flamingo Air, a flight school and sightseeing tour company based out of Lunken Airport. The plane has even appeared in some of the business' promotional materials.

"We are not responding to any inquiries," said a Flamingo Air representative who answered a phone call from The Enquirer Saturday morning.

The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the crash and a preliminary report is expected in two to three weeks.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Pilot reported engine issues as aircraft went down over Anderson Twp.