Small Plane Crashes Near House Outside Baltimore, 3 Killed

JACKSONSVILLE, Md. (AP) _ A small plane crashed in a wooded suburban area Saturday, killing three people in the aircraft, a Baltimore County fire spokeswoman said. <br/><br/>The plane crashed about 75

Saturday, March 24th 2007, 1:48 pm

By: News On 6

JACKSONSVILLE, Md. (AP) _ A small plane crashed in a wooded suburban area Saturday, killing three people in the aircraft, a Baltimore County fire spokeswoman said.

The plane crashed about 75 feet from a house, with some wreckage landing 10 feet from the building. The house was unoccupied and no one on the ground was injured, said spokeswoman Elise Armacost. She said a caller reported hearing the plane's engine followed by a crash.

The single-engine Piper Saratoga PA-32 took off from a Harford County airport and crashed near a golf course about 15 miles north of Baltimore, Armacost said. Investigators didn't know if the pilot was trying to land on the course, she said.

The plane was on its way to Abingdon, Va., and crashed between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. shortly after takeoff, National Transporation Safety Board spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said.

Investigators from the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration, Piper and Lycoming, the maker of the plane's engine, were on the scene, he said.

Baltimore County police identified the victims as Theodore C. Ryder, 45; Paul E. Sorensen, 48; and Timothy H. Connor, 48. Police say Ryder was the pilot.