Jet crashes into Ohio apartment block
At least two dead; 10-seater Hawker clips utility wire, bursts into flames
AKRON, Ohio — A small business jet crashed into an apartment building on Tuesday, killing at least two people aboard and shaking homes several blocks away, authorities said.
Investigators were trying to determine how many people were on the 10-seat Hawker H25 jet, but they confirmed two deaths, said Lt. Sierjie Lash, an Akron fire department spokeswoman.
No one was inside the small brick apartment building or another home that caught fire, she said.
The jet, which took off from Dayton, had planned to land at Akron Fulton International Airport, about 3.3 kilometres from where it crashed.
It clipped a utility wire on the way down and burst into flames and disintegrated after impact, Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Haymaker said.
The plane then hit an embankment beyond the apartment building, causing a nearby house to also burn, he said. There were no known injuries on the ground, he said.
Witnesses reported hearing explosions when the plane hit.
“I heard a big bang and my couch shook twice,” said Carrie Willis, who lives sev- eral blocks away.
The front of the apartment building was destroyed.
A mass-fatality team planned to begin working at daylight today to sift through the wreckage and recover bodies of the victims. Summit County Medical Exam- iner Dr. Lisa Kohler said Tuesday evening that authorities still hadn’t confirmed how many people were on the plane.
Inspectors from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were due at the scene.