Three dead after small plane crashes in Prince George's County

Three people were killed after a small plane crash in Prince George’s County, Maryland, late Saturday, according to state authorities. Maryland State Police said the single-engine Piper Cherokee went down around 11:30 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area of Bowie. The pilot and two adult passengers died, and their identities will be withheld until families are notified. Police believe the aircraft belonged to a Montgomery County flight school and was conducting a training flight at the time. Investigators said they first received an “iPhone crash alert” just before midnight near the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 301, and responders searched before locating wreckage around 3:45 a.m. Sunday near Scarlet Oak Terrace in Bowie. The plane departed from Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg and was heading toward Ocean City, New Jersey. The NTSB and FAA will lead the investigation.