Two die in plane crash at Tucson airport

Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Two people died when a small, private plane crashed and caught fire after taking off from Tucson International Airport, officials said.

The twin-engine Beechcraft 300, a turboprop plane also known as King Air and often used for executive transport, was headed to Mexico. It crashed between the airport terminal and a cargo area at 12:40 p.m. Monday, coming to rest near a wall adjacent to a parking garage.

"It hit the ground [and] skidded for a distance before coming to a rest," said John Ivanoff, airport chief of public safety. It then caught fire, with Tucson Fire Department and Arizona Air National Guard personnel putting out the smoky flames.

The identities of the two people aboard were not released. There were no injuries on the ground, and commercial air traffic at the airport was not affected. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the accident.