Six Die in West Virginia Plane Crash

KENOVA, WV -- All six people aboard a small plane were killed when it struck a power line and crashed shortly after its pilot warned on the radio that it was running low on fuel.

Witnesses said the aircraft was flying low shortly before the Friday afternoon crash, then the electricity went out.

"The pilot issued a mayday," says Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters. "The mayday was based on low fuel."

Officials initially said three people had died in the crash, but later revised the death toll to six. The Piper PA-34 crashed less than two miles from the Tri-State Airport near the Ohio and Kentucky state lines. FAA officials did not immediately know the plane's origin or destination.

Peters said Tri-State controllers were working with the pilot when the plane made a sudden 180-degree turn and they lost contact.

Witness Chris Smith was outside with his daughter when he saw the plane go down.

"It was flying way too low," he says. "It was flying so low I could have thrown a rock up and hit the bottom of the plane."

Smith's wife, Amanda, says she heard a loud crash and saw nearby power lines shake. Then the lights went out.

"My husband ran in with my daughter because they were sleigh riding and said, 'Call 911. A plane crashed,'" says Smith.

Appalachian Power confirmed the plane hit a transmission line, but spokesman Phil Moye says power to the area was only briefly affected.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

The plane is registered to Wilmington, DE--based Wesvin Inc.