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This video image shows police and firefighters at the scene of an aircaft crash in suburban Cincinnati.
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Small planes collide over Ohio; 3 aboard die

Glenn Hartong / AP

Small planes collide over Ohio; 3 aboard die

SHARONVILLE, Ohio Two small aircraft collided today over suburban Cincinnati, raining debris onto roads and backyards and killing three people on board, federal investigators said.

The accident involved two planes, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a recorded message. Based on witness accounts, the agency initially said a helicopter might have been involved.

Two of the victims were aboard a Cessna 172, and their identities were withheld pending notification of relatives. The pilot of the other plane, a Beechcraft Bonanza, was identified as Neils Harpsoe of suburban West Chester.

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The FAA had no information about the pilots flight plans or why the aircraft were so close together. Under federal regulations, the pilots were responsible for maintaining a safe distance on a clear, sunny afternoon. Blue Ash Airport, a runway used by small planes, is several miles away.

The planes pilots were not required to file flight plans and apparently were not in contact with air traffic controllers, the FAA said.

No injuries were reported on the ground. The collision occurred over a residential area with several well-traveled highways that were closed temporarily while investigators looked for debris.

What appears to be a piece of a wing rested against a guardrail on a heavily traveled highway near the crashes. A police car with lights flashing blocked the piece of wreckage for investigators while vehicles drove past.

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It s scary to think of something like that happening so close, said 71-year-old Margaret Hardesty, who lives about a block from where one of the planes crashed. It could have landed on any of these houses.

Hardesty was in her kitchen when she heard a loud noise.

I just heard a loud boom and at first I thought it might have been one of those big trucks crashing, she said.

Resident Joe Muenks said wreckage from one of the planes fell in a yard about three blocks from his house.

It took out about a third of a tree, Muenks said. The plane nose-dived ... The metal was so crunched together we could just see there was no way anyone who was in there could have survived.

His son, Kevin, was playing basketball in the backyard and heard the collision.

I just heard a big pop and I looked up, Kevin Muenks said. The plane was just coming straight down, just nose-dived into the ground. There was no explosion, fire or anything.

What remained of the other plane landed in a street a few miles away, blocking the two-lane road with some debris ending up in a front yard. The two aircraft narrowly missed a circle freeway that was clogged with traffic just before rush hour.

Read more in later editions of The Blade and toledoblade.com

First Published May 11, 2007, 11:54 p.m.

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This video image shows police and firefighters at the scene of an aircaft crash in suburban Cincinnati.  (Glenn Hartong / AP)
Officials inspect the wreckage of a small plane strewn across Kemper Road after two aircraft collided in the air near Cincinnati.  (Al Behrman / AP)
Glenn Hartong / AP
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