1 dead in twin-engine airplane crash near Billings airport

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A twin-engine airplane crashed near the Billings airport Monday morning, killing one person, Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder said.

Kevin Ploehn, airport operations director for Billings Logan International Airport, told KULR-TV that the plane crashed upside down in a ravine at 10 a.m. The crash happened near the Billings Rod and Gun Club, which is just over a mile west of the airport. Only one person was aboard, Ploehn said.

Witnesses reported seeing black smoke in the area and Billings firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, Linder said.

It was not clear what caused the Piper PA-31 to crash, Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, told The Billings Gazette.

The victim’s name has not been released. Linder said he did not know where the airplane was flying to or from at the time of the crash, but said officers were in contact with the pilot's family.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash, Kenitzer said.