MONROE, Mich. (AP) — Three people were killed when a small, single-engine plane crashed nose-first into a Monroe city park.
Witnesses report that the Piper Malibu Mirage was heading south and skirted some trees before smashing into a soccer field at Munson Park.
"When I turned around, it was flying low to the ground and tilted sideways, coming at us," high school senior Michelle DeMarco told The Monroe Evening News. "At the last moment, it turned away, and the plane exploded as soon as it hit the ground."
DeMarco was among a number of players preparing for a tennis match at nearby St. Mary Catholic Central High School.
There were some people on or near the soccer field, but no one on the ground was reported injured.
"It could have been worse," Monroe Police Lt. Charlie Abel said.
An emergency dispatcher told The Associated Press that reports of the crash began flooding in at 4:04 p.m. Munson Park is at the southeast corner of Monroe Custer Airport, about 35 miles southwest of Detroit and just north of the Ohio state line.
The plane reportedly took off from an airport in Bedford County, Pa., about 2:26 p.m. and was due to arrive at Custer Airport about 4 p.m., according to FlightAward.com, an online tracking service.
The plane is registered to Triple F Aviation L.L.C. out of Monroe, about 35 miles southwest of Detroit and just north of the Ohio state line.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash, spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory, adding the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the probe.
