ohio plane crash Screenshot/Ohio.com
Authorities say nine people were killed in the crash of a small business jet into an apartment building in northeast Ohio.

Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Haymaker says the 10-seater Hawker H25 jet clipped a utility wire on the way down Tuesday afternoon and crashed into a small apartment building, which was destroyed by a subsequent fire.

The plane then hit an embankment beyond the building, causing a nearby house to also burn.

A spokeswoman for the Akron fire department originally confirmed two fatalities but, a report from Ohio.com cites a person it describes as an owner of the downed jet who says there were seven passengers and two crew members on board.

The plane burst into flames and disintegrated.

Haymaker says no one was at home in the apartment building that was destroyed and there are no known injuries on the ground.

Witnesses reported hearing explosions when the plane hit.

"I heard a big bang, and my couch shook twice," said Carrie Willis, who lives several blocks away.

The front of the apartment building was destroyed.


"Everything was gone," he said. "It looked like a bomb exploded."

Officials investigating the fiery Ohio plane crash say a pilot that had just landed at a nearby airport reported hearing no distress calls despite being on the same communications frequency as the aircraft that went down.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board say the crashed plane had been expected to land at a small Akron airport that doesn't have a control tower, so the incoming flight was guided by a larger airport in the area.

NTSB Vice Chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr says investigators will remain at the site for several days.

The Tuesday crash destroyed a small apartment building, but no one on the ground was hurt.

A Florida real estate company says seven of its associates on the plane died.