Five people were killed when a Beechcraft King Air crashed shortly after takeoff from Arkansas’ Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport (LIT) on Wednesday. The aircraft went down about one mile south the airport at approximately 12 p.m. local time. The aircraft was owned and operated by Little Rock-based environmental consulting firm CTEH. The pilot and four passengers onboard were all CTEH employees reportedly travelling to Ohio to respond to a fatal explosion at a metal factory.
The cause of the accident is not yet known and the NTSB is investigating. A post-crash fire occurred. Storms were reported in the area at the time of the crash with wind gusts of up to 46 MPH recorded. A Special Weather Statement was issued by the National Weather Service at 11:32 a.m. for a fast-moving line of strong convective rain showers with wind gusts up to 50 mph expected to impact the area through noon CST.
