Three die in plane crash, 350 yards from runway at Holmes County Airport (10G), Millersburg, Ohio.

MILLERSBURG -- The remnants of a small plane that was reported missing Monday evening was found late Tuesday morning crashed in a wooded hillside, killing the three passengers.

The victims were three adults, two males and a female. Names were withheld Tuesday pending notification of family.

The aircraft, a twin engine Apache, was flying from Terre Haute, Ind., en route to Steubenville where the passengers were planning to visit with family. It is believed the crash occurred sometime around 4:30 a.m. Monday. The Holmes County Sheriff's Office did not receive word that any airplane was missing until later that evening.

The plane reportedly was destroyed and a small fire ensued, but it is unknown as to when the fire began.

The crash site was located about 350 yards away from the runway of Holmes County Regional Airport, County Road 305, just southwest of Millersburg. A neighbor alerted the Sheriff's Office he had seen an aircraft circling the airport. That person went to the airport office and attempted to radio the plane but received no response.

Due to not receiving word of the missing aircraft until after nightfall, the Sheriff's Office, assisted by the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Civil Air Patrol, was forced to stave off their search until Tuesday morning.

The search began at 8:30 a.m. but was delayed again because of a low cloud ceiling that prohibited aircraft from taking off until about 11:30 a.m.

"Our aircraft had to maintain a minimum of 1,200 feet and he could not see down to the ground from the minimum height," said Lt. Chad Enderby, commander of the Wooster Post of the State Highway Patrol. "Once the weather broke ... our aviation section in Columbus was able to come up ... and we were able to locate it from the air. The last location we had was right here at the airport. They were seen attempting to land, so this was the obvious first place to start."

Using a Civil Air Patrol airplane, a State Patrol helicopter and Marion County Sheriff's Office helicopter, the crash was located after only searching for a few minutes in a very wooded area.

Holmes Sheriff Timothy Zimmerly reported the plane hit tree tops upon its descent.

After the completion of the search, the investigation was handed off to Zimmerly's office as the State Patrol relinquished its jurisdiction.

"We have the authority to do the investigation of plane crashes. In this instance the Sheriff's department wanted to handle it so it's our policy that if they want to handle it, we'll offer any type of resources or assistance that they may need but they have requested to handle the primary investigation," Enderby said.

Holmes County Coroner Robert Anthony was summoned to the scene shortly after noon.

The cause of the crash remained unknown Tuesday, although weather conditions at the time were reported to be extremely foggy and would make a landing attempt difficult.

The bodies of the deceased were transported to Pomerene Hospital in Millersburg.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Elizabeth Isham Cory of the Federal Aviation Administration Great Lakes Region said the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the crash. It could take several months to a year to complete the investigation, she said.

Source:  http://www.the-daily-record.com