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Pilot dies trying to rescue passenger in Okla. plane crash

Oklahoma City firefighters arrived to find the pilot trying to save the passenger trapped in the burning wreckage

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Oklahoma City Fire Department/Facebook

By Mitchell Willetts
The Charlotte Observer

OKLAHOMA CITY — Two people died after an airplane crashed into a field and burst into flames, Oklahoma firefighters say.

Firefighters arriving at the scene of the burning wreck on Sunday, Dec. 10, found a man struggling to rescue a passenger from what was left of the single-propeller plane, the Oklahoma City Fire Department said in a news release. The plane was “fully engulfed” by fire, officials said.

The fire was quickly put out, firefighters said, but the passenger still trapped in the wreckage died at the scene. The man who was trying to rescue the passenger was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where he later died, according to the fire department.

That man was the pilot, firefighter Scott Douglas told KFOR, adding that despite the man’s ultimately fatal injuries, he was talking at the scene.

Officials say the plane crashed near Wiley Post Airport, a small airport on Oklahoma City’s northwest side.

The crash is being investigated by federal aviation officials, the fire department said.

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