Plane crash kills student pilot, injures 3 others

BROOKVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- A single-engine airplane crashed near a small airport Sunday night, killing the student pilot and injuring the three passengers, authorities said.
The plane nose-dived into a field about 7 p.m. just south of the Brookville Air-Park Airport about 10 miles northwest of Dayton, Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Art Combest said.
The student pilot, 38-year-old Daniel Bridenbaugh of Arcanum, was pronounced dead at the scene, Combest said. Paramedics took the flight instructor, Jenny Caden, 22, of Dayton; and the pilot's two children, Nicholas, 9, and Joshua, 13, to area hospitals, Combest said.
A hospital spokeswoman said the boys were in fair condition Sunday night. A spokeswoman at a different hospital declined to comment on Caden's condition.
Combest said all three were conscious and talking when they were taken to the hospitals.
Witness's account
A nearby resident said he encountered the flaming plane after hearing the crash.
"All I heard was the impact, and I took off running," Harold Clemons told the Dayton Daily News.
Clemons, neighbor Dale Mehaffey and T.M. Kaufman, who was driving by at the time, said they sprayed portable fire extinguishers on the plane and worked to free the instructor and the two boys. The rescuers said they got the children and instructor out, but had trouble with the pilot.
"He was a big guy," Mehaffey said.
Combest said authorities didn't know whether the flight was for training or for pleasure. The plane was not involved in the Dayton Air Show, which concluded Sunday, Combest said.
The Federal Aviation Administration would be taking over the investigation, Combest said.