Authorities say small plane crash near airport kills 3 in southern Minnesota

Authorities: 3 killed in Minnesota plane crash

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Federal Aviation Administration says three people have been killed in a plane crash near an airport in Rochester in southern Minnesota.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said in a recorded message that the small plane crashed roughly two miles northwest of the airport just before midnight Wednesday. She says officials are still working to confirm the type of aircraft, its origin and destination, and how many people were aboard.

Capt. Terry Waletzki of the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office told The Post-Bulletin of Rochester an aircraft had contacted air traffic controllers to report engine distress when it was about three miles from the airport.

Cory says the FAA and federal transportation safety officials will investigate.