Arkansas plane crash leaves behind no survivors, investigation underway

Authorities in the US state of Arkansas could not find any survivors in the plane crash that occurred in the state's Pulaski County on Wednesday. According to The Arkansas Times, at least five people died when a small twin-engine plane crashed mid-flight around noon shortly after take off from Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.
 
The passengers, who all worked for North Little Rock-based environmental consulting firm CTEH, were en route to Ohio's John Glenn Columbus International Airport when the Beechcraft BE20 aircraft crashed due to a malfunction. The site of the crash is a couple of miles away from Clinton National Airport, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Cody Burk said.

While the personal details of the deceased passengers have not been released by authorities, CTEH issued a statement and said that their employees were on the way to responding to an explosion to occur at a metals plant in Ohio this week. The blast killed one worker and wounded dozens.

CTEH releases statement on the plane crash

“We are incredibly saddened to report the loss of our Little Rock colleagues. We ask everyone to keep the families of those lost and the entire CTEH team in their thoughts and prayers," said CTEH senior vice president Paul Nony. Following the crash, the Little Rock Fire Department and the Little Rock Police Department arrived at the scene to find survivors.

The crash is now under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Investigators are looking into the possibility of poor weather being a factor in the crash, which took place when wind gusts of 40 mph moved through the region.