2 Punta Gorda men killed in Ohio plane crash

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planecrashvictims
Jesse Loy and Eric Hackney

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Two men from Punta Gorda were killed when the small plane they were traveling in crashed Sunday in a wooded area of Warren County, Ohio, CBS affiliate WHIO reports.

Eric Hackney, 43, and Jesse Loy, 36, were flying to visit friends when their plane went down in woods along the Little Miami River. Both died on impact, said Doyle Burke, the chief investigator for the Warren County Coroner’s Office.

The cause of the crash has yet to be determined. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation is ongoing.

Emergency crews were first dispatched around 5:45 p.m. Sunday after callers reported smoke and flames coming from a low-flying plane, according to WHIO. ATVs and boats were used to get to the site and a fire was put out without it spreading beyond the crash area.

No severe weather was in the area at the time of the crash. The two-seat prop plane is a total loss, an Ohio State Highway Patrol official said.

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