3 missing, 1 survivor in small plane crash in USVI

U.S. Virgin Islands – At least three people were missing and one person survived after a small plane that was delivering newspapers crashed Saturday in the U.S. Virgin Islands, officials said.

The island’s Port Authority initially said in a press release that one person died but later issued a new statement saying that a female passenger survived.

The Piper PA-23-250 plane went down just eight miles (13 kilometers) south of the airport in St. Thomas, said Jose Nazario, airport manager for the island’s Port Authority.

The plane had been delivering newspapers to the island of St. Croix and was returning to St. Thomas after picking up a couple of passengers, said David Mapp, interim Port Authority executive director.

Among the missing is the pilot, identified as Kirby Hodge, Nazario said.

It was unclear what led to the crash.

The plane’s certification status had been terminated, according to records with the U.S Federal Aviation Administration.