Ohio plane crash: Six killed in small aircraft accident; vacation-bound family among dead

Six people, including four members of the same family and two pilots, were killed when a small plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Youngstown-Warren regional airport in Ohio on Sunday morning, officials said.The Cessna 441 twin-engine turboprop went down in a wooded area near the airport, said federal aviation authority. It left no survivors, according to Anthony Trevena, executive director of the Western Reserve Port Authority, which manages the airport. The aircraft was registered to Meander Air LLC of Warren, Ohio, reported news agency AP.Trumbull County Coroner Lawrence D’Amico on Monday identified the victims as pilot Joseph Maxin, 63, of Canfield; co-pilot Timothy Blake, 55; and passengers Veronica Weller, 68; her husband James Weller, 67; their son John Weller, 36; and his wife Maria Weller, 34, all residents of Hubbard. The family was reportedly on their way to Bozeman, Montana, for a vacation. They are known locally for owning steel manufacturing businesses in the Youngstown-Warren area.Maxin, a former Mahoning county assistant prosecutor and the port authority’s director of compliance, was remembered as a devoted public servant. The plane crashed in dense woods near three homes, but no one on the ground was injured, said Howland township fire chief Raymond Pace, who noted access to the crash site was difficult, according to AP.“This is an awful tragedy, but it could have been even worse,” Pace added.Michael Hillman, president of JETS FBO Network, confirmed the flight was headed to Montana and praised the victims as “the best of the best.” He added, “I’d give anything to go back and take them to breakfast instead.”The FAA and NTSB are investigating the cause of the crash and have requested any available surveillance footage or eyewitness accounts from the public.