PLANE CRASHES INTO BACKYARD

BREAKING NEWS

PORT CLINTON – The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating fatal plane crash that occurred at approximately 12:52 p.m. today that killed at least four people. A 340 Cessna airplane crashed into a backyard of a home located on Port Clinton Eastern Road, west of State Route 269, in Ottawa County, in Danbury Township.

A representative from the Federal Aviation Administration is on-scene and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified and is en-route. The Ottawa County Sheriff’s office and the Danbury Township Police Department are also on-scene.

Jack Stables, Director of The Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport, said the crew of the twin-engine Cessna 340 announced their intention to land at the airport over the radio around noon. Stables did not know where the flight originated.

Stables said he watched the plane fly across a field near the airport to begin the landing pattern with no indication of distress. "Everything seemed normal and I could hear both engines working fine," Stables said. "Then we never heard from them again."

The plane crashed in a rural residential area about 200 or 300 feet from a house, Stables said. The aircraft's landing gear and flaps were down, seemingly in preparation to land.

A Cessna 340 can seat six passengers but typically carries just four because of weight restrictions, Stables said.