Six dead in plane crash in US's Ohio minutes after takeoff

Six people have been confirmed dead after a twin-engine aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in the northeastern US state of Ohio. The incident occurred early on the morning of June 29 in a wooded area of Howland Township, near the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

Local authorities confirmed that the aircraft, carrying two crew members and four passengers, went down just seven minutes after departure at around 7:00 a.m. local time, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Emergency responders from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and local fire and rescue teams were dispatched to the crash site, located near King Graves Road.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have launched an investigation into the cause of the accident, which remains unknown.

Witnesses in the area reported hearing unusual engine sounds followed by a loud explosion.

“I was sitting outside having coffee when I heard a plane that didn’t sound right,” one resident told emergency dispatchers. “Then I saw a huge plume of smoke.”

Another caller described hearing a “big bang” as the aircraft went down in a densely forested area not far from residential neighborhoods.

By Sabina Mammadli