Six killed in plane crash

PHOENIX (AP):

A small airplane slammed into a sheer cliff in the mile-high mountains east of Phoenix and exploded, killing the six people on-board, including the pilot and his three young children who were to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with him, authorities said.

The body of one child was recovered and dozens of sheriff's search-and-rescue personnel worked yesterday to recover the remains of the other victims, said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.

Search party

A search-and-rescue team was in the rugged Superstitions Mountains searching for three missing teenagers Wednesday evening and saw the explosion as the twin-engine plane hit the cliff, Babeu said. The searchers found the teens, then went up the mountain to try to reach the crash site.

Ten deputies who spent the night on the mountain were relieved by 10 more early yesterday. They and dozens of volunteers began searching the crash site at first light. Video from news helicopters yesterday morning showed the wreckage strewn at the bottom of a blackened cliff.

The dead included the pilot and his three children, two boys and a girl, ages five to nine, Babeu said. The father lived in Safford in southeastern Arizona and owned a small aviation business there.