JACKSON — The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of a small plane crash near an airport in southern Ohio that claimed the lives of three people, authorities said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said a preliminary investigation indicates that a Piper PA 32 Cherokee Six crashed into a field about a quarter-mile north of the James A. Rhodes Airport in Jackson County shortly after 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
UPDATE 2/25/24 2:13 p.m.: The three were identified as a father, his son and a family friend on their way to Florida.
Authorities identified 44-year-old Daniel Baker as the pilot. His vehicle was found parked at the nearby James A. Rhodes Airport. The friend was identified as 45-year-old Zebulon Logan. The father was listed by the sheriff’s office as 78-year-old Robert Daniel Baker of Lucasville, while the Ohio State Highway Patrol identified him as 75-year-old Dan Baker of West Portsmouth.
The Jackson County sheriff’s office said the plane crashed Saturday as they were traveling to pick up a newly purchased vehicle.
Federal and state authorities and the county sheriff’s office had no immediate word on where the single-engine aircraft came from and where it was headed.
The Jackson County airport is located about 80 miles south-southeast of Columbus.