8 killed in Minnesota plane crash

(CNN) -- A charter plane crashed while attempting to land at a regional airport in southern Minnesota on Thursday morning, killing all eight people aboard, authorities said.

One of the eight died after being taken to a hospital.

Brad Cole, the president of the company that owned the plane, said the two crew members who died were pilots Clark Keefer and Dan D'Ambrosio, both of Pennsylvania. The company was still trying to confirm the identities of the six passengers, Cole said.

The Raytheon Hawker 800 left Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Thursday morning and crashed off runway 30 at Owatonna, said Elizabeth Cory, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

CNN affiliate KARE reported that the corporate jet was trying to land in a thunderstorm.

The plane's passengers were customers of Owatonna architectural glass manufacturer Viracon, KARE reported. No Viracon employees were aboard, it said.

KARE said the Hawker's pilot radioed the airport at 9:44 a.m. to say the plane was approaching for a landing. Radar detected it at 1,600 feet at the time of the call. The crash apparently happened shortly after that, KARE reported.

Cameron Smith, a mechanic at the airport, ran to the crash scene to find a long skid path and "shredded" debris, KARE reported. "There was no fuselage. There were just parts."

A trail of wreckage extended 500 feet beyond the runway, KARE reported.

The plane was owned by charter firm East Coast Jets Inc., according to KARE.

Minnesota saw strong thunderstorms and tornado warnings Thursday morning, but it was not known whether weather was a factor in the crash.

Owatonna is a city of about 22,000 people south of St. Paul.

CNN Radio's Ninette Sosa contributed to this report.

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