Small plane crashes into house near Poughkeepsie, killing 2

A plane crashed into a New York home Sunday, killing one resident and one person on the aircraft and causing a massive fire, state police said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is to determine why the Cessna 303 plunged at about 4:30 pm (local time) in the rural town of Union Vale, 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Poughkeepsie.

State police spokesman Steven Nevel said three men were on the plane; one died and two were injured. Of three people in the home, one died, another was seriously hurt and the third is missing.

Two golden retriever puppies and a grown Newfoundland dog escaped the flames that engulfed the house on Union Vale's South Smith Street.

The names of the victims were not being released until family members were notified, the state police spokesman said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Cessna left Sky Acres Airport in LaGrangeville, a mile from the crash, and was headed to Republic Airport on East Farmingdale, Long Island.

State police Capt. Paul DeQuarto said at a news conference that the plane first took off from the Orange County Airport in Montgomery, New York, then stopped to refuel 40 miles (64 kilometers) away at the Sky Acres Airport before continuing toward Long Island.

DeQuarto said the Cessna had some kind of engine trouble before it struck the side of the two-story house, but he had no other details.