2 in critical condition after small plane descends early, crashes into trees

LANCASTER, Ohio — Two people were hospitalized after a small airplane crashed in Fairfield County Sunday night.

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The Lancaster Police Department told our news partners, WBNS-10 TV, that officers were called to Rainbow Drive between Noland Drive and State Route 188 for an airplane crash around 10:40 p.m.

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Crews responded and found two adults, a pilot and a passenger, with injuries.

They were taken to Grant Medical Center in critical condition, according to authorities. OSHP later said the two were stable.

An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper told WBNS-10 TV that the occupants were flying in from West Virginia to the Fairfield County Airport.

The trooper said they were about five miles away when the plane descended and hit a tree, crashed, and hit a second tree.

It’s unclear why the plane descended early.

The plane is a single-engine Cessna, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) registration website.

The crash remains under investigation by the FAA.

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