Md. residents died in Ky. crash

The National Transportation Safety Board says a twin-engine airplane that crashed Tuesday in a national forest near Hazard, Ky., killing two Maryland residents, reported problems before it went down.

NTSB Investigator Jose Obregon said Thursday that the pilot radioed air traffic controllers in Indianapolis twice shortly before the early afternoon crash saying he was having issues with air speed and requesting a lower altitude for the flight.

Kentucky State Police say the crash killed 68-year-old Stephen James Reardon and 59-year-old Beverly Ann Reardon. They were from Woodbine, Md.

Obregon says the plane came almost straight down into a remote hilltop in the Daniel Boone National Forest in foul weather.

He says there were reports of icing and freezing temperatures along the plane's intended route from Frederick, Md., to Olive Branch, Miss.

-- Associated Press