Pilot killed after plane crashes into Virginia house

Update, 5:45 p.m.:

The plane that crashed into a house in central Virginia Thursday afternoon had taken off from Manassas Regional Airport, Virginia State Police said.

The pilot's identity was not released. He was killed when the twin-engine plane crashed in Louisa, Va., and state police said the plane was headed for Danville.

Authorities say the owner of the one-and-a-half story house was in the basement at the time of the crash and was able to escape the burning structure safely.

State police say the plane landed around noon Thursday at Louisa County Airport and then took off with 148 gallons of fuel before crashing minutes later about a quarter of a mile from the airport.

No one else was on board the plane.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters says preliminary witness accounts were that the Cessna T303 Crusader's engines quit before it crashed.

The crash will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

-- Tom Jackman

Original post:

Officials with the Virginia State Police say the pilot of a twin-engine plane was killed when the aircraft crashed into a house in central Virginia.

Authorities say the owner of the one-and-a-half story house was in the basement at the time of the crash and was able to escape the burning structure safely.

State police say the plane landed around noon Thursday at Louisa County Airport and then took off with 148 gallons of fuel before crashing minutes later about a quarter of a mile from the airport.

No one else was on board the plane.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters says preliminary witness accounts were that the Cessna T303 Crusader’s engines quit before it crashed.

The crash will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

-- Associated Press