A small plane crashed into a sport utility vehicle parked outside an airport Sunday, hurling it through a terminal wall, officials said. Three people in the plane were killed.
The twin-engine Beech B-60 also sparked a fire behind the airport’s commercial baggage claim area, filling the terminal with smoke, officials said.
About 100 to 150 people were inside the Gainesville Regional Airport terminal, but no injuries were reported on the ground, police said.
The plane took off from the north Florida airport and circled several times before attempting to land, but sent no distress call, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. The plane’s destination was not known.
The terminal was evacuated and would remain closed until Monday, airport spokeswoman Michelle Danisovszky said. Commercial flights were suspended until Monday afternoon, although privately owned aircraft continued taking off and landing at the airport Sunday, she said.
The identities of the victims weren’t released.
The plane, built in 1977, was registered to OCEM Avionics Inc. of Gainesville, according to FAA records. A message left at a telephone listing for the company was not immediately returned.