4 Americans, pilot die in plane crash

MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian pilot and four American tourists on a golfing vacation were killed when a light plane crashed into a suburban shopping mall and burst into flames Tuesday, shortly after takeoff in Melbourne, officials said.

The twin- engine Beechcraft Super King Air crashed about 45 minutes before the Direct Factory Outlet mall in Essendon Fields was to open, Police Minister Lisa Neville said.

The U. S. Embassy in Canberra confirmed that four victims were U. S. citizens. Texans Greg Reynolds De Haven and Russell Munsch were identified by their families on social media as two of the victims.

The pilot was Max Quartermain, owner of the charter company Corporate and Leisure Travel.

The plane had just taken off from Melbourne’s secondbiggest airport, Essendon, for a golfing trip to King Island, 160 miles to the south, when it crashed into the adjoining mall, officials said.

The pilot reported a “catastrophic engine failure” moments before the plane crashed into a storage area at the rear of the mall, police said.