EASTERN PA. Two dead after small plane crash

The twin-engine aircraft was found in a field.
COATESVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- A small plane crashed near the Chester County Airport on Sunday, killing the pilot and his wife, authorities said.
Pilot Richard W. Simons, 70, and his wife, Phyllis Simons, 67, who lived in the Malvern area, died in the crash, according to Dr. Rodger Rothenberger, the county coroner.
The twin-engine Piper Aztec crashed at about 2:20 p.m. in a field near Route 372, about a mile south of the airport, Hudson said. Only two people were aboard the plane, he said.
Westwood Fire Company chief John Sly said the pilot had not been in contact with the airport before the crash.
Simons was an experienced pilot who flew corporate planes out of the airport, but was not required to file a flight plan Sunday due to the size of the plane, Rothenberger said.
The pilot apparently had taken off from the airport at about 11 a.m. and had returned when the crash occurred, Rothenberger said. He said the twin-engine plane may have clipped a line of trees before going down in a cornfield.
The airport, operated by the Chester County Airport Authority, has a 5,400-foot runway and markets itself as an airport for corporate jets.
Hudson said the Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the crash. An FAA spokeswoman did not immediately return a phone call Sunday night.