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Part of a wrecked plane sits in a parking lot at a dealership in Marietta. There are burned cars around the wreckage.
Part of the wreckage from a small plane crash in Marietta on Tuesday. [Kaitlin Thorne | WOUB]

Two people are dead after a plane crash in Marietta

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UPDATED – 10/18/22 5:45 p.m.

MARIETTA, Ohio (WOUB) — Two people are dead after a private plane crashed at a car dealership in Marietta Tuesday morning.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol Marietta Post identified Eric Seevers, 45, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Timothy Gifford, 49, of Orient as the two people on board.

The 1974 Beechcraft King Air E90 took off from John Glenn International Airport in Columbus at 6:40 a.m. with an unknown destination. The plane traveled approximately 30 minutes southeast and crashed at the Pioneer Buick GMC dealership on Pike Street before it was reported to authorities at 7:15 a.m.

There were no reported injuries to people on the ground. Multiple vehicles and buildings at the dealership were damaged by both the crash and the fire it caused.

The wreckage of a small plane crash in a parking lot at a dealership in Marietta. There are burned cars around the wreckage and the one the side of a metal building.
Part of the wreckage from a small plane crash in Marietta on Tuesday. [Kaitlin Thorne | WOUB]
The cause of the crash is unknown and the investigation could take a while.

“They’re going to go back and see if there was any communication with air traffic control or see if there were any potential issues with the aircraft in the air,” Lt. Nathan Dennis with the Ohio State Highway Patrol said on the scene Tuesday. “They’ll also look at maintenance records for the aircraft to see if there was anything recently done to the vehicle.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting the investigation.