MID-AIR TRAGEDY

Steel Magnate and Family Killed in Ohio Plane Crash

The Cessna 441 crashed around 7 a.m. Sunday in a heavily wooded area in Youngstown.

A wealthy steel magnate and several family members were among the six people killed in a plane crash in Youngstown, Ohio, on Sunday morning. The Cessna 441 went down just minutes after takeoff in a heavily wooded area two miles away from the end of the runway of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. On board was the owner of Liberty Steel Industries Inc. James “Jim” Weller, 67, his wife Veronica, 68, their son John, 36, and their daughter-in-law Maria, 34. The pilot, Joseph Maxin, 63 and the co-pilot, Timothy Blake, 55, were also killed. They were headed for Bozeman, Montana, when the light aircraft went down just seven minutes into the journey. “I heard a loud crash, a horrible crash. I could hear trees cracking, you know, heavy impact,” resident Joe Nuskievicz told a local news outlet. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined, but Nuskievicz said the engine “didn’t sound right,” adding that he thought it lacked power. Howland Township Fire Chief Raymond Pace said the air accident was the deadliest in the area’s history. It is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).