WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A small plane lost power after takeoff and crashed into a flight-training building while trying to return to a Kansas airport Thursday, killing four people, injuring five others and igniting a fire that sent up towering plumes of black smoke that could be seen for miles around Wichita.
Three of the dead were inside a flight simulator in the building when the plane crashed into it at the city's Mid-Continent Airport, and the fourth was found on the roof and is believed to be the pilot, WichitaFire Chief Ronald Blackwell said.
Five others were injured in the crash, and one of those was in serious condition at a hospital, Blackwell said. Officials said only one person was on board the plane and that everyone who was in the building had been accounted for. Identities of the victims were not immediately released.
"We understand that this is a very difficult time, especially for folks who have family members who are working out here and they don't know," Wichita Fire Marshal Brad Crisp said.
The plane, identified as a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air, crashed into a building that FlightSafety International uses to train pilots to fly Cessna planes, company spokesman Steve Phillips said. The FAA said it crashed after losing engine power and trying to return to the airport.
It appeared to strike the top of the building and ignite what Blackwell described as a "horrific" fire.
The crash was "not an intentional act," Wichita Police Deputy Chief John Speer said. "We are comfortable in saying this is an aviation accident."
The crash caused so much structural damage to the building that rescuers were unable pull victims' remains from the wreckage. It wasn't clear Thursday when that would happen, and heavy equipment was being brought to the scene to assist the effort.
Jeff Papacek, 39, of Wichita, said he saw a "giant fireball" as he was heading to his engineering job at Learjet, which has a testing facility at the airport. He said he didn't see the crash because there were too many buildings in the way, but he said the plane caught his attention beforehand.
"We are used to planes flying straight with the runway, and this plane just didn't look like it was lined up and was way too low for the direction it was going," Papacek said, adding that he drove to the crash site to see what was happening and saw the building fireraging.
The crash did not significantly disrupt passenger traffic at the airport.
The aircraft, which was manufactured in 2000, was headed to Mena, Arkansas, for painting and interior refurbishing work with Rose Aircraft Services Inc., according to that company's CEO, Keith Rose.
"Our prayers go out to the families of the victims and those owning and operating the aircraft and facilities," Rose said. "No further information is available at this time out of respect for those involved in this tragic loss."
A tail number provided by the National Transportation Safety Board showed the plane is registered to Beechcraft Corp. Beechcraft spokeswoman Nicole Alexander confirmed in an email that the aircraft was registered to the company but said it was recently sold. She said she couldn't comment further and referred additional questions to the NTSB.
Located several miles west of downtown Wichita, a longtime aircraft manufacturing hub, Wichita Mid-Continent is used by private aircraft and served by several airlines and their regional affiliates, including American, Southwest, Delta, United and Allegiant. It saw more than 13,000 departures and about 1.4 million passengers last year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The crash is the latest in a string of incidents at the airport. In December, an avionics technician was arrested after a months-long undercover sting when he allegedly tried to drive a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac in a plot prosecutors say was intended to kill as many people as possible. Then in January, an Oklahoma man rammed his pickup truck through a security gate at the airport. In September, the airport conducted a large-scale disaster exercise featuring the mock crash of a 737 aircraft.
One patient remains in serious condition at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis and four others have been treated and released, hospital spokesman Roz Hutchinson said.
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Reporters Heather Hollingsworth, Margaret Stafford and Greg Moore in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this story.
