US plane crashes into FlightSafety building, killing three in a flight simulator, Latest Others News - The New Paper
News

US plane crashes into FlightSafety building, killing three in a flight simulator

This article is more than 12 months old

Four people were killed, including the pilot, and five injured when a small airplane crashed into a building at Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita on Thursday, setting off an explosion and huge fireball, officials said.

The authorities said they had accounted for four people who had been listed as missing after the airplane, which officials said carried only the pilot, struck a building where pilots train on the airport grounds.

 

“I heard a big, loud noise, but it was muffled. I saw smoke and flames. I rushed over." - Lana Johnson, 65, who was in a post office near the airport when the plane crashed.

 

The pilot of the twin-engine turbo-prop Beechcraft King Air 200 reported losing engine power just after taking off from the airport and crashed as it tried to return, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

“The pilot did report that he did have left engine damage,”National Transportation Safety Board investigator Leah Yeager told an evening news conference.

At a news conference, authorities said they have not released the identities of the victims.

One of the injured was listed in serious condition and the four others were treated and released from Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, spokeswoman Maria Loving said.

Deaths in flight simulator

Three of the dead were in a flight simulator and one was on the roof, airport officials said. Their bodies had not yet been recovered because of concerns about the building’s safety.

Fire Chief Ron Blackwell said the plane appeared to strike the top of the building, sparking an intense fire.

Parts of the airplane were found on the roof and on the ground, he said.

The authorities said more than 100 people were believed to have been in the building, which was operated by FlightSafety International, a Berkshire Hathaway Inc company.

Crews had searched three of four flight simulators in the building, but could not get into the fourth due to concerns about potential structural collapse, Crisp said.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation, the FAA said. - Reuters

 

TOURISM & TRAVELUncategorised