Multiple fatalities confirmed in OBX plane crash

KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. – Multiple fatalities have been confirmed in a single-engine plane crash near Wright Brothers National Memorial First Flight Airport.

According to the National Park Service, the accident occurred in a wooded area around 5 p.m. Saturday. A Dare County sheriff's deputy reported that a few people were still in the park at the time of the plane crash.

Eyewitnesses reported that the plane attempted to land at the airport and that a subsequent fire set the plane on fire. The fire was extinguished by the Kill Devil Hills Fire Department and other local agencies.

Eyewitness Nadia Popruzhenko said she saw it as she drove to the store.

“At first I thought he was really high, and then all of a sudden he just went down a little too fast,” she said. “This one went down so quickly I thought it was too low.”

The airport is closed until further notice and the Wright Brothers National Memorial will remain closed Sunday, the release said.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident and the Federal Aviation Administration has also been notified.

Visitors can follow the status of operations on the park's Facebook page.