Emergency personnel respond to the scene after a small aircraft crashed while taking off from the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday Feb. 22, 2023. (AP)
Five people were killed in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Wednesday after a twin-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff.
According to KARK-TV out of Little Rock, the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane crashed into a wooded area within a mile of the Clinton National Airport around noon. It was headed to John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio.
During a news conference held shortly after the crash, Pulaski County Sheriff's Office Lt. Cody Burk said search efforts were in "recovery phrase." However, it was later confirmed that none of the passengers survived. No injuries have been reported on the ground.
The cause of the crash is not yet known but authorities said bad weather was hampering the investigation. A thunderstorm and strong gusts of wind were reported near the airport at the time of the crash.
According to THV 11, the pilot and other passengers were employees of the science consulting firm CTEH. According to a company spokesperson, those onboard were responding to an explosion at the I. Schumann & Co. Metals plant in Bedford, Ohio, where one person was killed and 13 others injured.
The aircraft was identified as a Beech BE20. Several other deadly crashes in the last few months have involved Beechcraft airplanes.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the crash.
