Small plane crashes in northwest Ohio

LAKESIDE, Ohio (AP) — A small plane crashed in a rural residential area as its pilot prepared to land Saturday, killing four people, a sheriff’s department said.

Jack Stables, director of the Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport, said he watched the plane fly across a nearby field 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 crew of the twin-engine Cessna 340 announced their intention to land at the northwest Ohio airport over the radio about noon, Stables said. He did not know where the flight originated.

The plane crashed just before 1 p.m. about 200 or 300 feet from a house, authorities said. The aircraft’s landing gear and flaps were down, seemingly in preparation to land.

The two men and two women on board were killed, the State Highway Patrol said. No injuries to people on the ground were reported.