3 men die in Ohio plane crash
JACKSON COUNTY, – Three men have died after the airplane they were in crashed Saturday, Feb. 24 not far from the Jackson County James A. Rhodes Airport in Southern Ohio, authorities report.
The victims were identified in a news release by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office as 44-year-old Daniel T. Baker, of Jackson.
The other two passengers as Baker’s father, 78-year-old Robert Daniel Baker of Lucasville, and a friend, Zebulon D. Logan, 45, of Lucasville, Jackson Sheriff Teddie E. Frazier said.
Deputies were alerted by dispatch that there was possibly a fire near the airport just after noon on Saturday to the area of Keystone Station and Barton Roads, Sheriff Frazier said.
First to the scene was the Jackson Fire Department who discovered that an aircraft was burning just off the roadway on Barton Road.
While Jackson Fire worked to extinguish the fire, Jackson County EMS responders and Deputies identified three passengers, all deceased.
The plane has been identified as a Piper aircraft Model # PA32-300.
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Although it is early in the investigation, Deputies were able to initially identify a passenger in the plane by a vehicle parked at the airport.
The owner of the vehicle was also discovered to be the pilot, Baker.
The identities of those in the aircraft were confirmed by the families of the passengers.
The family explained that the men were enroute to Florida to pick up a vehicle that had been purchased by Mr. Logan.
The aircraft was later identified by the Jackson County Airport confirming the aircraft.
Jackson County Coroner Dr. Alice Frazier has sent the bodies to Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for autopsies.
Sheriff Frazier explained that the Ohio State Highway Patrol, along with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will investigate the cause of the crash.
The sheriff thanked the Jackson and Wellston Fire Departments, the Jackson County EMS, Jackson County Emergency Management Agency, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Jackson County Coroner’s Office for their assistance at the scene.
The sheriff also thanked Oak Hill Police for bringing their drone to survey the scene.
No other information regarding this incident is available at this time.
The airport is about 5 miles southeast of Jackson.