A pilot and passenger are dead after a plane crashed into a car dealership lot near Marietta, Ohio. Authorities say no one on the ground was injured
The 1974 Beechcraft King Air E90 crashed in the parking lot of a Pioneer Buick GMC dealership, killing the pilot and the plane’s only other occupant, Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Nathan Dennis told reporters. The crash happened shortly after 7 a.m., and the plane was headed from Columbus to Parkersburg, West Virginia, just miles from the crash site, Flightradar24 data indicates. The plane took off from John Glenn Columbus International Airport around 6:35 a.m., Dennis said.
Thick, dark smoke and orange flames rose from the parking lot in video of the scene posted to Facebook by Amber Davis, a Marietta-area resident who heard an explosion from her home and went outside to see what happened. The fire has been put out, Marietta police Cpt. Aaron Nedeff told CNN. The dealership is on a commercial stretch of State Route 7, which also serves as the Ohio River Scenic Byway. The dealership is flanked by a hotel and a farmers market.