A business jet crashed into an apartment building in Akron, Ohio Tuesday, killing all nine people on board, the owner of the plane has confirmed, according to NBC News.
The impact made a loud banging sound and shook furniture in homes blocks away, according to the Associated Press. The plane, a 10-seat Hawker H25 jet, crossed a busy street, clipped electrical and telephone wires, hit a residential building and ignited in flames Tuesday in Akron.
Augusto Lewkowicz, the plane's owner and operator, said that he would not release the names of the seven passengers and two crew members who were aboard the plane.
Ambulances and fire trucks were at the scene quickly after the crash. Construction workers who witnessed the crash ran to the scene in an effort to help, Fox 8 reported.
A small brick apartment building and home caught fire after the crash, but nobody was inside of them at the time. "Obviously, the situation could have been worse, granted, if anybody was home," State Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Haymaker explained. The jet was on its final approach to Akron Fulton International Airport when it crashed at 3 p.m. Tuesday and was traveling from Dayton.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Quincy Vagel, Weather Channel meteorologist described the environmental conditions as "poor, with low visibility and fog."
"Outside of a controlled runway landing, getting a plane down safely in an emergency would have been a very tough task," Vagell continued.
"I heard this noise, and a plane just dropped out of the sky and veered to the left and plowed into the duplexes there." Rebecca Porter, a woman who witnessed the crash said.
