2 Dead After Small Plane Crashes In Rural Ohio

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APPLE CREEK, Ohio (AP/KDKA) - Authorities say two pilots are dead after a plane crashed into the snow-covered front yard of a rural Ohio home shortly after taking off from a private airfield nearby.

The State Highway Patrol says initial reports indicate the plane had engine trouble Monday morning after departing Stoltzfus Airfield in Wayne County, roughly 50 miles south of Cleveland. The front of the aircraft was destroyed.

(Photo Courtesy: WOIO/Cleveland 19 News)

CBS affiliate WOIO reports the plane took down four utility poles as it crashed, knocking out power for hundreds of people in the area.

Troopers say 55-year-old pilot Brian Stoltzfus and 56-year-old co-pilot Curtis Wilkerson died at the scene. Both were from nearby Apple Creek. No one else was hurt.

The crash shook but just missed Michael Morrison's home. Morrison tells The Daily Record in Wooster he ran outside, spotted the wreckage in the yard and immediately called 911.

(TM and © Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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