The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that the aircraft was a 1963 Piper Cherokee.
AKRON, Ohio — Two people are dead after a plane crashed into a house in Akron, Ohio on Thursday afternoon.
The crash happened at around 3:45 p.m. inside a housing development, known as Coventry Crossing, in the southern part of the city of about 190,000.
Akron fire officials responded to reports of heavy black smoke in the area. When crews arrived, they found fire and smoke showing from the house. Two homes were evacuated and no residents were reported as injured.
First responders say the two victims were found dead inside the aircraft. Their identities have not yet been released.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that the aircraft was a 1963 Piper Cherokee. The plane had departed from Akron Fulton Airport, located approximately four miles east of the crash site.
“The crash remains an active investigation, and troopers, local law enforcement, fire, and EMS personnel continue to assess the scene. Residents are encouraged to avoid the area while emergency crews remain on site,” the OSHP added in a release.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board will be in charge of the investigation.
Akron Fire Department response
During a press conference at the scene, Akron Fire Department District Chief Sierjie Lash told reporters that officials first received a call that residents saw a plane going down into the house.
“We got more calls that people heard explosions and we arrived to heavy smoke coming out of the house and we addressed it, approached it as a house fire,” she explained.
The home suffered significant damage as a result of the plane crash. Lash explained that Akron fire investigators will work with the Ohio State Fire Marshal to determine the house’s structural integrity.
Lash added that the department was being “very protective” of all of the nearby residents, given the proximity of houses near the crash scene.
Neighbors tell 3News, a TV station based in Cleveland, they are coming together via the neighborhood’s social media group to help collect items and support the families affected by this tragedy.