Two pilots have died and four passengers were injured after their 76-year-old plane crashed on Monday morning, local outlets report.
The plane — a fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft — appeared to experience engine issues shortly after taking off from Stoltzfus Airfield while en route to Akron-Canton Airport, according to theWEWS, citing the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
“When they were in-flight one of the engines went out on it,” Lt. Stephanie Norman of the highway patroltold the news station, “and we believe that’s possibly what caused the crash today.”
“It’s very scary. The power went out. We heard the crash and you just jump. You don’t know what it is,” Morrison toldWEWS. “Around here there’s a lot of people who have gas in their homes and you expect it to be a gas canister exploding or something. I’ve never felt a force inside the house that strong.”
After the crash, Morrison called emergency services and tried to lend a hand in their efforts.
“I called 911, I grabbed as many blankets as I could, I tried to come out and I tried to give a hand to people assisting from the airport,” Morrison said. “By then they seemed to have it pretty much in control.”
With pieces of the plane scattered around his yard, and Morrison said he felt “blessed” to have been unharmed in the accident.
“We are very lucky,” he said.
According to theTimes Colonist, co-pilots Brian Stoltzfus, 55, and Curtis Wilkerson, 56, died on the scene. No one else on the ground was injured.
The plane the men were piloting — a Douglas DC-3 — was first manufactured in 1942, and many are still in operation today, saidABC Newsaviation consultant Col. Steve Ganyard.
“It was a great airplane, and there are thousands still flying in remote parts of the world,” he said, “but it is an antique.”
source: people.com
