At least four people are confirmed to have died near
Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport after a light aircraft lost an engine during
takeoff and plowed into a flight simulator building on Thursday morning.
Five injured people were transported to Via-Christi Hospital
and four people are currently unaccounted for, including the pilot, said fire
Chief Ron Blackwell.
By afternoon, one patient was described as being in serious
condition, one in fair condition and three in good fair condition, according to
a hospital spokeswoman.
The roof of the FlightSafety International building - which
houses 100 people - burst into flames described as 'horrific' when the twin
engine Beechcraft King Air 200 came down shortly after 10am.
Only the pilot was on the plane, but it wasn't immediately
clear how many people were in the building at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport,
Fire Chief Ronald D. Blackwell said. Four people remained unaccounted for hours
after the crash, but a search was halted at midday after a portion of the
building collapsed.
Wichita Fire Marshal Brad Crisp assured onlookers the search
would resume as soon as the building was deemed stable.
'We understand that this is a very difficult time,
especially for folks who have family members who are working out here and they
don't know,' Crisp said. 'This is also a very difficult time for first
responders.'
Huge plumes of smoke that could be seen for miles around the
city billowed in the aftermath of the accident.
'I would imagine that there was probably a bit of panic in
the early stages of the incident. We are grateful at this point that a large
number of people appeared to have gotten out at this point but certainly
saddened by the loss of life and anybody who might have gotten hurt,' said
Chief Ron Blackwell, Wichita Fire Department according to KSN.
More pics below.
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