The victims included two pilots and six passengers, all casino and constructionexecutives who were heading to this city about 60 miles south of the Twin Cities for a businessmeeting.
The Raytheon Hawker 800 went down around 9:45 a.m. Thursday, shortly after severeweather had moved through southern Minnesota. The weather conditions, as well as the plane'sstructure, its systems and other factors, are being examined by the National Transportation andSafety Board, said John Lovell, the investigator in charge.
A cockpit voice recorder and a flight management system were recovered and sent tothe NTSB lab in Washington to be analyzed.
The charter jet, flying from Atlantic City, N.J., to Owatonna, a town of 25,000,went down in a cornfield northwest of Degner Regional Airport, Sheriff Gary Ringhofer said. Thewreckage was not visible from the airport, and roadways leading to the site were blocked off.
Debris was scattered 500 feet beyond the airport's runway. Late Thursday, theDakota County coroner was on the scene working to identify victims.
Seven people were found dead at the crash site. One died later at a hospital.
Neville said the airport has no control tower, and pilots communicate withcontrollers in Minneapolis.
An hour before the crash, a 72 mph wind gust was reported in Owatonna, according tothe National Weather Service. Witnesses said the crash occurred after the worst of the storm hadpassed, with the sky clearing and only light rain.
