Plane Crash in Lafayette, La., Leaves 5 Dead, Official Says

Chief Robert P. Benoit of the Lafayette Fire Department said one person had survived the crash. That person and three other people on the ground were taken to hospitals, he said.

The plane struck a car in the parking lot when it crashed shortly before 9:30 a.m., engulfing the car in flames and injuring someone inside, said Alton Trahan, a spokesman for the Fire Department. The three people on the ground who were hurt included that person and two postal workers, he said.

One woman was taken to Lafayette General Medical Center in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said, and then transferred to the University Medical Center New Orleans. It was not immediately clear if the woman had been on the plane or on the ground.

Another patient was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Information on the other two patients was not immediately available.

The plane, a two-engine Piper Cheyenne, which can hold up to eight passengers, was heading to Atlanta but crashed a mile west of Lafayette Regional Airport, where it had taken off, said Tony Molinaro, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. He said investigators did not yet know what caused the crash.

Videos and photographs from the scene showed chunks of metal in a field next to the post office and flames billowing near mail trucks. Emergency vehicles had swarmed the area and firefighters put out small fires.

Investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were on their way to the scene of the crash.

Gov. John Bel Edwards called the crash “heartbreaking” and said he and his wife were praying for the family and friends of those affected.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .