MINNEAPOLIS — Three people died late Saturday when a single-engine plane crashed into a house in Hermantown, minutes after it took off from the Duluth International Airport.
Authorities on Sunday identified the victims as passengers Alyssa Schmidt, 32, of St. Paul, her brother Matthew Schmidt, 31, of Burnsville, and the pilot, Tyler Fretland, 32, of Burnsville.
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk went down shortly before midnight and crashed into a house in the 5100 block of Arrowhead Road, said Joe Wicklund, a spokesman for the city of Hermantown.
Two people inside the home were uninjured, he said.
The plane hit the second floor of the house and came to rest in the backyard.
The Hermantown Police Department was notified by the control tower at the Duluth airport after the small airplane had left radar and was believed to have crashed. The control tower advised the last location on radar was 1 to 1.5 miles south of the airport.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide additional updates, the FAA said.
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