LAKESIDE — Authorities were continuing an investigation Sunday into why a small plane crashed in a rural residential area as its pilot prepared to land, killing four people.

The crash killed the pilot, David Eckstein, 67, of Mansfield, and his three passengers: John McCarter, 68, and Karen Soprano, 62, both of Mansfield, and Janet Hanna, 66, of Shelby, State Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Carlos Smith said Sunday.

It is not yet known where the plane originated or what caused the crash, Smith said. The crew of the twin-engine Cessna 340 announced their intention to land at Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport over the radio sometime after noon on Saturday, said Jack Stables, the airport’s director.

He said he watched the plane fly across a nearby field to begin the landing pattern with no indication of distress.

“Everything seemed normal and I could hear both engines working fine,” Stables said. “Then we never heard from them again.”

Alice Orshoski, who lives in the neighborhood, said she heard an engine sputtering overhead just before the plane hit the ground.

The plane crashed shortly before 1 p.m., about 200 or 300 feet from a house, instantly killing everyone on board, authorities said. The crash shook homes in the neighborhood, located several miles from the northwest Ohio airport.

“I didn’t see the initial impact, but I saw stuff fly,” said Cathy Hiller, who lives next door to the crash site. “When I looked up, I saw debris.”

The aircraft’s landing gear and flaps were down, seemingly in preparation to land. There was some fog in the area at the time of the crash, but the pilot did not send out a distress signal, said Sgt. Eric Wlodarsky of the State Highway Patrol.

“We honestly just don’t know what’s taken place,” Wlodarsky said.

A woman who was a back seat passenger was thrown from the plane, while the pilot and the other two passengers were wearing seat belts, said Ottawa County Sheriff Bob Bratton.

Because part of the plane is buried in the ground, it is possible that the bodies won’t be removed until Monday, Wlodarsky said.  

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