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Kan. firefighter killed in Okla. plane crash

Authorities said the small passenger plane crashed into a soybean field, killing firefighter Nicholas Werner and everyone else on board

The Oklahoman

PONCA CITY, Okla. — A rural Kansas firefighter, his father, and two sons were among those killed in the Kay County plane crash on Saturday morning, a Kansas fire department reports.

The Independence, Kansas, Rural Fire Department posted on Facebook that Nicholas Warner, a Sycamore firefighter; his father, Bill Warner; and two boys were killed in the crash northwest of Ponca City.

Tim Valentine, a friend of Nicholas Warner, was also in the plane, the post states.

Those killed in the crash have not been identified by the state medical examiner’s office.

Authorities said the small passenger plane crashed into a soybean field near Hubbard Road and S U St. about 10:40 a.m. Saturday. There were no survivors.

Lynn Lunsford, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, said a single-engine Extra EA-400 crashed shortly after taking off from Ponca City Regional Airport.

In a Facebook post on May 18, Valentine posted a photo of himself with a caption identifying him as an owner of that type of aircraft.

Lt. Kera Philippi, spokeswoman for the patrol, said it appeared the plane had come to the airport for the monthly Fly-In/Drive-In Breakfast, which draws a number of aircraft to the airport the first Saturday of each month.

Copyright 2018 The Oklahoman

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