Minor Injurers for Pilot & Passenger After Plane Crashes in Ashland County Field
ASHLAND COUNTY, Ohio — A Pennsylvania pilot returning home with a dog he had adopted was among two people who suffered minor injuries Monday afternoon when their small plane crashed in an Ashland County field and clipped a home.
The dog was not injured, and a person inside the home also was unharmed, according to Sgt. Daniel Kumor of the Ashland Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The patrol received a report of the crash at 2:41 p.m. Monday on Township Road 523. The aircraft, a 1968 twin-engine Beechcraft Baron B-55, came down in a cornfield and clipped the back of a brick home. The home sustained damage, Kumor said.
The pilot was identified as Richard J. Nardone, 74, of Wapwallopen, Pennsylvania. His passenger was Christina M. Stephens, 25, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Both were treated and released at the scene by paramedics.
Nardone said he had flown from Pennsylvania to Illinois that morning to pick up a dog from a shelter. He said he had adopted the dog and was bringing it home when the crash occurred.
“I’m a dog rescue pilot. I’ve done over 300 of them,” Nardone said. “This dog was in the shelter. I was going to adopt the dog.”
The plane was traveling from Vermilion, Illinois, back to Pennsylvania, officials said.
Kumor said the aircraft experienced some type of engine failure, although the cause remains under investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration was notified and was sending a representative to the scene, he said.
