Washington DC (NVI): A small plane flying in blizzard-like conditions crashed in the US state of South Dakota just before noon, killing nine people, including two children, and injuring three others.
The Pilatus PC-12, a single-engine turboprop plane, crashed shortly after take-off about two kilometres from the Chamberlain airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
Among the dead was the plane’s pilot, Brule County State’s attorney Theresa Maule Rossow said, adding that a total of 12 people had been on board.
The three survivors were taken to hospital in Sioux Falls, she told US media.
The NTSB tweeted it was “investigating today’s crash of Pilatus PC-12 near Chamberlain, SD”.
South Dakota is located in the Northern Plains, a region facing blizzard conditions as a storm blows eastward across the United States.
A winter storm warning remains in effect in Brule County, the National Weather Service said, potentially including blowing snow that “could significantly reduce visibility”.
The Pilatus PC-12 aircraft had an intended destination of Idaho Falls Regional Airport, Lunsford said.
Snow was falling at up to an inch an hour in South Dakota, the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls said.
Visibility could fall to less than a mile, the weather service tweeted.
“The men and women of law enforcement, first responders and medical professionals should be commended in their heroic actions to rescue the victims in the extreme weather conditions,” Rossow said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
