Plane crashes just after takeoff at rural airfield; 2 dead

APPLE CREEK, Ohio — Authorities say two pilots are dead after a plane crashed into the snow-covered front yard of a rural Ohio home shortly after taking off from a private airfield nearby.

The State Highway Patrol says initial reports indicate the plane had engine trouble Monday morning after departing Stoltzfus Airfield in Wayne County, roughly 50 miles south of Cleveland. It hit trees and took down power lines, and the front of the aircraft was destroyed.

Troopers say pilot Brian Stoltzfus, 55, and co-pilot Curtis Wilkerson, 56, died at the scene. Both were from nearby Apple Creek. No one else was hurt.

The crash shook but just missed Michael Morrison’s home. Morrison tells The Daily Record in Wooster he ran outside, spotted the wreckage in the yard and immediately called 911.