Plane approaching Conn. airport crashes into homes

EAST HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A small plane crashed in a working-class neighborhood near an airport today and engulfed two houses in flames, killing at least two people and leaving a third feared dead.

The multiengine, propeller-driven plane struck two small homes a few blocks from Tweed New Haven Airport as it came in for a landing.

Soon after the crash, officials said at least three people were missing: the pilot and two children in one of the houses, ages 1 and 13. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy later said the plane also may have been carrying two passengers but that officials were still trying to verify whether that was true.

"We haven't recovered anybody at this point and we presume there is going to be a very bad outcome," East Haven Fire Chief Douglas Jackson said early this afternoon.

Less than two hours later, Malloy said rescuers had spotted two bodies but had not yet been recovered them. The plane's fuselage had entered one of the houses and the recovery effort was focusing on the home's basement, the governor said.

The plane, a Rockwell International Turbo Commander 690B, flew out of Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and crashed at 11:25 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.