5 die in small airplane crash near Little Rock factory

By ANDREW DeMILLO
Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Five employees of an environmental consulting firm died when a small airplane they were traveling in crashed near a Little Rock factory shortly after taking off. A spokesman for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office said a twin-engine plane crashed Wednesday afternoon outside an industrial area in Little Rock, a couple miles south of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration said five people were on board the plane. The plane had departed the Little Rock airport and was headed to John Glenn International Airport in Columbus, Ohio. The crash occurred as a line of thunderstorms moved through the Little Rock area.