The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team of federal investigators to look into the cause of a small plane crash in Arkansas that killed all five people on board, the agency announced Thursday.
The preliminary report on the plane crash, which occurred shortly after taking off from the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock on Wednesday, is expected to be released in two weeks, NTSB spokeswoman Jennifer Gabris told the Associated Press.
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All five fatalities, including the pilot, were employees of the environmental consulting firm CTEH, which was responding to an explosion at an Ohio metals plant that occurred on Tuesday. The explosion killed one employee and injured a dozen more.
Those killed in the plane crash have been identified as 23-year-old Gunter Beaty, a production safety data manager; 36-year-old Kyle Bennett, a staffing manager in logistics; Micah Kendrick, 41, a safety supervisor; Sean Sweeney, 64, the pilot; and 32-year-old Glenmarkus Walker, a rapid responder, according to the outlet.
The crash occurred while a storm was passing through the Little Rock area, according to the National Weather Service, but it is unclear whether the safety board is looking into foul play. Investigators are expected to consider whether the storm played a part in the crash, the NTSB said.
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The crash comes less than a month after the NTSB sent investigators to East Palestine, Ohio, to investigate a train derailment in the small town. Approximately 50 train cars were derailed on Feb. 3, including some that carried toxic chemicals.
