Plane crashes; 5 on board believed dead
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-04-21 21:03
A small plane believed to have five people on board crashed in fog near the
airport, authorities said Friday.
There was no word on the fate of the passengers and crew, said Indiana State
Police spokesman Ken Maxwell.
The wreckage was found just south of the Monroe County
Airport around 4:30 a.m. Friday, Maxwell said. The aircraft was en route to the
airport from Lafayette, Indiana, about 90 miles (140 kilometers) to the
northwest.
The pilot activated the lights at the airport from the cockpit but never
landed, said Mike Cornman, deputy fire chief in Van Buren Township.
Officials at Hulman Field in Terre Haute, Indiana, said
the plane disappeared from radar at 11:40 p.m. Thursday, Cornman said.
The plane was a single-engine Cessna with six seats, officials said. It was
headed from Lafayette to Monroe County Airport in Bloomington, home to Indiana
University.
Residents made an emergency call to report what sounded like a plane in
distress, he said, and some reported hearing a loud boom.
Rain and fog hindered efforts to launch a search by helicopter.
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