CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two people died Friday morning when a cargo plane contracted by UPS crashed into a hillside while approaching a West Virginia airport, according to multiple reports.
The Kanawha County Commission told WCHS that the crash was reported around 7 a.m. at Yeager Airport in Charleston, about an hour and a half after the aircraft took off from Louisville, Kentucky.
Authorities did not immediately identify the people killed in the crash. Airport officials told WSAZ that the victims were the plane's pilot and co-pilot. They were the only people on board, WSAZ reported.
Airport spokesman Mike Plante told the news station that the Air Cargo Carrier plane struck a hillside as it was landing Friday morning. Unidentified officials added that it appeared that one of the plane’s wings hit the runway.
One of the aircraft’s wings was detached by the crash, according to WCHS. It was found Friday morning near the runway. The plane itself crashed over the hill, the news station reported.
Plante told WSAZ that officials didn’t immediately find evidence of any issues that might have caused the crash.
Authorities continue to investigate.