Family says Florida exec killed in plane crash

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Family members say a Florida real estate executive was among the nine people believed dead after a small jet crashed into an apartment building.

Beth Blakeslee of Newark, Ohio, says Ohio State Highway Patrol told her that 50-year-old Diane Smoot was among those who perished when the 10-seat Hawker H25 jet crashed into the building in Akron and exploded Tuesday afternoon.

The owner of the plane has said the jet was carrying nine people. Authorities say no one aboard the plane survived, but have not confirmed the number of people on the plane.

Cleveland.com reports that another sister, Jeannie Ferrara, said Smoot was with a group of executives from the Boca Raton, Florida-based Pebb Enterprises, a company that scouts locations for shopping malls.

Local and federal investigators returned to the site of the crash Wednesday morning. The plane crashed about 2 miles away from a small Akron airport where it was to land.