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2 die when small plane crashes in wooded area of northern Indiana

Aerial view of the Elkhart Municipal Airport in northeast Indiana.
Aerial view of the Elkhart Municipal Airport in northeast Indiana.

Two people were killed Tuesday when a small plane crashed in a wooded area in northern Indiana, authorities said.

The aircraft crashed around 2:20 p.m. in a rural area outside Bristol, roughly 55 miles northwest of Fort Wayne, the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office said.

The sheriff's office confirmed the deaths of the two occupants of the plane. South Bend television station WNDU reported the identity of one of the victims was Elkhart resident Wendell Ridenour.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration incident notice, the plane "crashed under unknown circumstances into trees." The FAA said the plane was a single-engine Zenith Air Zodiac CH-601.