twin-engine plane crashed into a building shortly after takeoff from Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita, Kan., on Thursday, killing four people, injuring five and touching off what one official described as a horrific fire that partially collapsed the structure.
Authorities said they had accounted for four people who had been listed as missing after the airplane, which officials said carried only the pilot, struck a building where pilots train on the airport grounds.
“I heard a big, loud noise, but it was muffled. I saw smoke and flames. I rushed over,” said Lana Johnson, 65, who was in a post office near the airport when the plane crashed.
The pilot of the twin-engine turbo-prop Beechcraft King Air 200 reported losing engine power just after taking off from the airport and crashed as it tried to return, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“The pilot did report that he did have left engine damage,” National Transportation Safety Board investigator Leah Yeager told an evening news conference.
One of the injured was listed in serious condition and the four others were treated and released from Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, spokeswoman Maria Loving said.
Three of the dead were in a flight simulator and one was on the roof, airport officials said. Their bodies had not yet been recovered because of concerns about the building`s safety.
Fire Chief Ron Blackwell said the plane appeared to strike the top of the building, sparking an intense fire. Parts of the airplane were found on the roof and on the ground, he said.
Firefighters toiled for several minutes to bring the blaze under control, Blackwell said.