Thursday, December 29, 2011
Associated Press
LEBANON, Ohio
A small plane flying with an engine compartment door open crashed Wednesday, injuring four people, authorities said.
The single-engine Piper 28 went down Wednesday afternoon near Lebanon, 30 miles north of Cincinnati, the State Highway Patrol said.
Patrol Lt. Mike Sanders said the pilot had noticed the engine compartment door was open and was circling back to land when he “lost control of the aircraft,” The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Sanders said it was unclear what caused the pilot to lose control but the plane clipped power lines and flipped onto its top, knocking out power to two nearby homes.
Initial reports indicated one person with serious injuries was flown to a hospital by helicopter and three people with minor injuries were taken by ambulance, patrol dispatchers said.
A fire at the crash scene was extinguished, and there were no reports of injuries to anyone on the ground, dispatchers said.
The plane had taken off from the nearby Lebanon-Warren County Airport, and the pilot was trying to return when the crash occurred.