NEW LONDON, Conn., June 2 (UPI) -- A Learjet owned by evangelist Pat Robertson crashed in Long Island Sound while trying to land in Connecticut, killing both pilots.
Robertson was not on board.
The plane, which had been chartered, was heading for the Groton-New London Airport, the Virginia Pilot reported. Three passengers survived.
"They have been removed and brought for treatment of none life-threatening injuries," Chris Cooper, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, told the newspaper.
The passengers, from Hampton Roads, Va., had chartered the plane to travel to a golf tournament at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket. They were able to crawl out of the plane after it hit the water.
The crash occurred in foggy weather. The area had been hit by a series of heavy thunderstorms.
Cooper said the pilot struck an approach light mounted on a platform in the Sound about 1,600 feet from the runway.
A spokeswoman said the plane is registered to Robertson Asset Management and is frequently chartered because Robertson himself does not use it much.
