Small plane crash in Pa. kills 2

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — A small plane crash near a southeastern Pennsylvania airport Sunday took the lives of the only two people aboard the aircraft, authorities said.

Emergency officials said the crash was reported just after 1:30 p.m. near Brandywine Airport, located about 20 miles west of Philadelphia.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Piper PA28 took off from the airport and went down about 2 miles away, then burst into flames. It appeared the pilot lost control of the plane before it went down in a field in West Goshen, officials said.

The West Goshen police said the two killed were males. They did not release the names, ages or hometowns.

“There were two lives lost; our hearts go out to the families,” said Jeff Suveg, the airport’s assistant manager.

The crash site was close to two residences and Harrison Hills Apartments, a new senior citizen complex, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

A nearby resident told the newspaper he saw smoke and fire but heard nothing. Frank Kraus, a resident at the apartment complex, said he heard a “big bang” and was concerned with how close the plane came to the apartments.