CLEVELAND — Nine people died in a fiery business jet crash in Ohio, state officials confirmed on Wednesday, as an investigation into the reasons for the jet’s crash continued.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board as well as Akron police were at the site where the 10-passenger Hawker business jet struck an apartment building on Tuesday while approaching the Akron Fulton airport.
The flight manifest showed seven passengers, a pilot and a co-pilot were on board at the time of the crash and their families have been notified, said Ohio State Patrol spokesman Bill Haymaker.
The jet’s wing clipped electrical power lines and crashed through the four-unit apartment block, eventually stopping on an embankment, Akron Fire Inspector Sierjie Lash said. Nobody was in the building when it was engulfed in flames, Lash added.
Haymaker described the area affected by the crash as “relatively small” and said the debris was somewhat contained by an embankment the jet hit after crashing through an apartment building.
Real estate firm Pebb Enterprises of Boca Raton, Florida, said seven of its employees died in the crash.
The NTSB was heading the investigation, FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said.