Two killed in plane crash

Two men were killed Sunday in a small plane crash in Cambria County.

Pilot Michael Benko of Johnstown was described by police as an experienced pilot.

The name of his passenger was not immediately available.

Police said the plane took off shortly before 8 a.m. from the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Richland Township for the short flight to Ebensburg.

When the plane did not arrive, a land and air search was started, police said.

Shortly after 5 p.m., another plane spotted the wreckage in a grassy area that once had been the parking lot of an old coal mine in Jackson Township.

The crash site was north of Johnstown and south of Ebensburg, some 6 1/2 miles from the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, police said.

Police said it appeared the plane had crashed nose-first into the ground. The bodies were found inside the wreckage.

WPXI-TV quoted Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski as saying the men probably died instantly.