[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] A small plane crashed into a residential area in the United States, killing all three people on board.
According to U.S. media outlets including the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), a single-engine Piper PA-28 crashed near a residential area in Bowie, Maryland, around midnight on the 21st local time. The site was about 32 kilometers from Washington, D.C.
The aircraft was carrying three adults, including one pilot and two passengers. All of them died at the scene.
Maryland State Police said, "The aircraft crashed while traveling from Ocean City, New Jersey, to Montgomery County Airpark in Maryland."
They also said the plane belonged to a flight school in Montgomery County and that the accident appears to have occurred during a training flight.
Rescue authorities began searching immediately after receiving reports of a possible plane crash, but it took considerable time to reach the wreckage because the crash site was in a heavily wooded area. Rescue crews were reportedly on the scene at around 3:45 a.m. that day.
Photos from the scene showed damaged aircraft debris scattered around a playground near the residential area.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the exact circumstances.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
