Report: Plane Climbed Slowly Before Fatal Ponca City Crash

(AP) - The National Transportation Board says a small airplane that crashed in northern Oklahoma, killing four members of a Kansas family and a family friend, was seen climbing slowly before it went down in a soybean field.

The brief report dated Thursday says a witness saw the Extra EA-400 aircraft take off Aug. 4 from the airport in Ponca City, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City, but said it was slow to climb.

The report says another witness saw the plane crash and burst into flames. The NTSB says the plane was flying to Independence, Kansas.

Killed in the crash were Nicholas Warner and his two young sons, his father, Bill Warner and family friend Tim Valentine.

The report does not identify who was piloting the plane.