Six killed in crash of small plane

BRANSON, Mo. (AP) -- A twin-engine Cessna crashed near the resort town of Branson on Thursday, killing six people, fire officials said.<br><br>The Cessna Citation went down five miles short of its destination,

Thursday, December 9th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BRANSON, Mo. (AP) -- A twin-engine Cessna crashed near the resort town of Branson on Thursday, killing six people, fire officials said.

The Cessna Citation went down five miles short of its destination, the College of the Ozarks, said Ted Martin, division chief of the Branson fire department.

The identities of the victims and details of the crash were not immediately available.

The plane was returning from St. Louis and last communicated with the school's airport tower at 3:08 p.m., said Ed Washington, duty officer with the Federal Aviation Administration's office in Kansas City. The wreckage was found around 7 p.m., he said.

KYTV-TV in Springfield reported that the craft belonged to the College of the Ozarks.

Rain fell on and off most of the day across the region, though officials did not immediately know whether the conditions were a factor. Springfield, about 40 miles north, received 1.75 inches of rain Thursday.

In exchange for working on the 930-acre campus, students at College of the Ozarks attend for free. Students maintain the school's classrooms, raise food on campus and run the school's fire department and airport.

The college, founded in 1906, draws many of its 1,500 students from Midwestern farms or families who have worked overseas as missionaries.