Asia-Pacific

Small plane crashes into building in New York state

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-06 08:40

NEW YORK - A small plane crashed into a commercial building in Suffolk County of the US state of New York on Saturday, injuring at least two people and leaving the building fully engulfed, police said.

The two-seat Cessna crashed into the Varsity Plumbing Supplies company in the afternoon just outside Long Island MacArthur Airport, local WABC television reported, citing official sources.

The crash occurred just after 3 p.m. on Saturday.

According to initial information from the police radio, both the aircraft and the building were on fire, and two people were severely injured.

The latest information said that the fire was already put out, with one victim airlifted to hospital and the other taken away in ambulance.

Initial investigation showed that there was a student pilot aboard the plane, police said.

Media reports quoted the US Federal Aviation Administration as saying that the pilot had been practicing landings at Long Island MacArthur Airport when the plane went down about 800 meters from the runway.