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JACKSON, Miss. Nov 14 2012 AP -- Three pilots flyingtogether to a federal safety conference died when their single-engine planefaltered in midair and crashed into a house that went up in flames.
The three men had just taken off from HawkinsField Airportin Jackson onTuesday when a witness said the Piper PA-32 began "spitting andsputtering."
The witness, a Jackson police officer, saw the planesputtering like it was out of fuel, he would later tell the plane's owner - abudding pilot whose own life was spared when he decided to go deer hunting insteadof flying. The men on board were headed to a Federal Aviation Administrationsafety conference less than 30 miles away.
One of the aviators asked for permission to return to theairport, but just minutes later the plane went down. It crashed through treesbefore slamming into a house that quickly caught fire, sending long flames andblack smoke through the neighborhood of modest single-family homes surroundedby magnolia and oak trees.
A deputy fire chief told WJTV-TV that one person escaped theburning home with minor injuries, but it was not immediately clear if anyoneelse was inside. One patient from the scene was in good condition at Universityof Mississippi Medical Center, spokesman Jack Mazurak said late Tuesday. Hewouldn't give the person's name or gender or the extent of the injuries, citingprivacy laws.
The plane was owned by Roger and Michele Latham, fromSuperior Pallet Company in Flowood, Miss., both of whom showed up atthe crash site, along with their grown daughter, Emily Latham.
Emily Latham noted that her father was supposed to have beenon board but changed his plans.
"He went hunting," she said. "ThankGod."
Michele Latham said all three men on board were pilots.Roger Latham, who is 15 hours short of getting his pilot's license, identifiedone of the victims as John Edward Tilton Jr., his flight instructor.
"He was one of the finest Christian men I knew,"Latham said. "We had three great men who lost their lives," he added."I just want to wake up in a while and say, 'This didn't happen.'"
Hinds County Coroner SharonGrisham-Stewart confirmed three people died in the crash. She said dentalrecords or DNA would be needed to confirm their identities.
The plane took off at 5:10 p.m. and shortly after, the pilotasked for permission to return to the airport, according to a news releaseissued by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority. It never made it.
The plane had departed HawkinsField Airportheaded for Raymond, Miss., for an FAA safety conference. Lathamsaid his plane had been parked in a hangar for a month and they wanted to takeit out for a short flight before he flew it to Gulf Shores, Ala.,for Thanksgiving. Latham said he had owned the plane for 2 1/2 years anddescribed it as being in mint condition.
Latham said a Jacksonpolice officer who was about a block away when the plane was coming down toldhim "it was spitting and sputtering and ... starving for fuel."
It hit trees on the way down, Latham said, adding, "I'msure John was doing everything he possibly could to save the lives onboard."
Vivian Payne, who lives about six blocks from the crashsite, said she heard a loud bang that sounded different from an electricaltransformer blowing.
"It shook the walls of my house," Payne said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA wereinvestigating.