A cargo plane contracted by UPS went off the runway and over a hillside at a West Virginia airport Friday morning, an airport official said. WHAS 11 reports that two people are dead.
After crashing, the plane went down a steep, wooded hill and emergency crews were trying to reach the crash site from above and below, airport spokesman Mike Plante said. It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any injuries.
“It’s difficult terrain to negotiate,” Plante said.
The plane had flown from Louisville, Kentucky, and arrived at the West Virginia airport at 5:43 a.m., Plante said.
A cargo aircraft has crashed @YeagerAirport Airport road is closed until further notice. Further details will be forthcoming.
— West Virginia International Yeager Airport (@flycrw) May 5, 2017
Charleston radio host Hoppy Kercheval tweeted Friday morning that the two dead were the pilot and co-pilot.
Pilot and co-pilot killed when cargo plane goes over hillside during landing at Yeager Airport. https://t.co/mhMnz77Pv5
— Hoppy Kercheval (@HoppyKercheval) May 5, 2017
Charleston airport officials have proposed spending $290 million to rebuild and extend the airport runway after a landslide in 2015 took out a church and an unoccupied house. The proposal calls for lengthening the runway from about 6,800 feet to 8,000 feet.
