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Four killed as plane hits building at Kansas airport

Four others missing after aircraft crashes into building after it aborts takeoff.

By Mary Papenfuss

WICHITA, Kan., Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Four people were killed when a small twin-engine Beechcraft plane smashed into a two-story flight safety center at the Kansas Mid-Continent airport in Wichita after it lost an engine on takeoff and attempted to return to the runway.

Pilot Mark Goldstein, 53, died, along with three others who were apparently in the building at the time of the crash. Another remained in serious condition at a local hospital. Four people were treated and released. Rescuers could not access one room to search because of the danger of collapse.

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Goldstein was a retired FAA controller who had been recognized for his safety work.

"He talked to the tower before he crashed. They knew his voice," said an airport spokesman. "He lost the left engine on takeoff. The worst thing that can possibly happen on aviation is to lose an engine on takeoff."

The plane appeared to clip the top of the building as it attempted to land and set it ablaze.

"We heard a plane just buzz the top of the building and heard a big, huge crash — a bang," one witness said. "We immediately ran outside and across the street, and the building was already going up in flames. You could see part of the wing hanging off the building, burning, and the landing gear."

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Another witness reported seeing the plane "just sitting on the top of the building on fire" as "black, hazy smoke" billowed from a gaping hole.

Investigators were on the scene.

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