Single-engine plane crashes near MD playground, killing three

Single-engine plane crashes near MD playground, killing three reports a fatal crash in Maryland late Saturday that killed all three people aboard and occurred near a residential area in Bowie. Maryland State Police said that about 11:30 p.m., a Piper Cherokee monomotor with a pilot and two passengers crashed in a wooded area just steps from a playground, behind a townhouse complex. Investigators believe the aircraft belongs to a flight school in Montgomery County and may have been operating as part of a training flight, traveling from Ocean City, New Jersey, to the Montgomery County Airpark. Police said the cause is unknown and no other injuries were reported. The aircraft was found around 3:45 a.m. Sunday after ground and aerial searches, and it was based at the airpark, according to Keith Miller, CEO of the Montgomery County Revenue Authority. The FAA and the NTSB will investigate, with the NTSB leading; an investigator is expected to arrive Sunday evening.