At least 17 feared dead in a plane crash in Butte, Montana 
[Update -- Mar. 23, 2009] 14 people have now been confirmed dead as the result of the crash: 7 adults and 7 children.
The number of those dead was confirmed by Karen Byrd, an FAA operations officer in Renton, Wash. Byrd said the death toll included seven adults and seven children.
The plane was believed to be taking its occupants on a ski trip to Montana. The death toll originally had been put as high as 17.
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board offered few details at a press conference in Butte Sunday night. No cause of the crash was given.
A California newspaper, the Napa Valley Register, reported on its Web site late Sunday that a family of five from St. Helena, Calif., including three preschoolers, was among the victims.
A small passenger plane crashed in Butte, Montana. At least seventeen people were on board, including "numerous" children. There are no survivors according to reports. The plane was flying in from Oroville, California. and diverted to Butte from its original destination, which was Bozeman, Montana.
Emergency crews are at the scene of the plane crash Butte that happened at about 3:00 p.m
The twin-engine plane went down in the Holy Cross Cemetery near Bert Mooney Airport and officials tell us that there are fatalities, but it's too early to tell how many people died in the crash.
The plane crashed about 500 feet from the airport while attempting to land and caught fire.It is unclear if anyone on the ground was injured.
An eyewitness to the crash told The Montana Standard the plane was doing steep angle turns and then went into a nose dive
Seventeen people, mostly children, are dead following a plane crash in Butte according to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.He says they believe the children were on a ski trip. The single engine plane took off from Enterprise, Oregon at about 11 a.m.
Witnesses tried to help, but there was nothing they could do:
[w url="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/22/montana.plane.crash/"]Martha Guidoni told CNN she and her husband were driving near the airport when they "watched this plane just take a nosedive."
"We drove [there] to see if there was any way my husband could help someone, and we were too late," Guidoni said. "There was nothing to help."[/q]
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (4)
at 15:16 on March 22nd, 2009
Thank you, I just saw the report on FOX News Channel. Apparently eye witnesses saw a small fire before it went down,
at 15:22 on March 22nd, 2009
Thanks, albertacowpoke and Esta. Here is the latest update.
Source: foxnews.com
at 15:30 on March 22nd, 2009
Thanks for updating, Esta. Great work.
at 17:49 on March 22nd, 2009
Awe what a terrible tragedy.Why is it we hear of more and more crashes in the air.God bless each and every one of the passengers.
at 12:21 on April 1st, 2009
Interesting note as to the fact that this plane crashed right next to a memorial for unborn children in this Catholic cemetary. The two daughters and five small children were the grandchildren of the largest provider of abortions in California.