Two killed as jet crashes into Indiana homes

Firefighters and rescue workers look over the scene in South Bend, Indiana, after a small twin-jet aircraft crashed into houses near the airport (REUTERS/WNDU-TV)

Two people were killed when a private jet crashed on a residential area in northern Indiana, the US Federal Aviation Administration said today.

Officials said the Beechcraft Premier I twin-jet flying out of Oklahoma with four people on board was apparently experiencing mechanical problems when it crashed in South Bend yesterday afternoon. It struck three homes, becoming lodged in one of them.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig, in Oklahoma City, said two people on the plane were killed.

Two others on board were injured, as was one person on the ground. Officials say none of the survivors had life-threatening injuries.

A South Bend fire official said they believe everyone connected with the damaged homes has been accounted for.

An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board was examining the scene.

AP