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Connecticut plane crash victims identified as it emerges tragic couple were expecting child
Authorities have identified the four people who tragically died after a plane flew into the side of a building in Connecticut on Thursday, September 2.
Two of the crash victims were a couple expecting a child, per NBC Connecticut.
The two pilots have been identified as William O’Leary, 55, and Mark Morrow, 57, and the passengers are Courtney Haviland, 33, and her husband, William Shrauner, 31.
A family friend confirmed that Courtney was pregnant with her second child with husband William. They already share young son, Teddy, who was not on board the flight.
The company that owns the building, Trumpf, also confirmed that an additional two people on the ground are being treated for injuries as a result of the crash, per People.
Watch a news report on the tragic crash below:
"At this time, all employees who were inside the affected building have been accounted for with two injuries reported. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available," the company wrote on Facebook.
The plane crashed into the building just after 10 AM local time on Thursday, September 2.
People were immediately evacuated from nearby buildings in Farmington moments after news of the crash.
"We are responding to a plane crash into a building at 111 Hyde Rd," the Farmington Police Department wrote on Twitter. "Please avoid the area so emergency crews can evacuate the immediate area."
Meanwhile, police told NBC Connecticut that the plane had a problem in the air which caused it to crash into the ground. It then hit a low industrial building.
"When we responded, the first officer on scene saw the building and the plane fully engulfed in flames," a police lieutenant said at a press conference, per The Sun.
"Witnesses here on scene, who were working, reported seeing the plane having trouble shortly after takeoff. The plane impacted the ground, and then struck the building."
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was a Cessna Citation 560X business jet that had taken off from Robertson Airport in the nearby town of Plainville, Daily Mail reports.
The jet was headed for Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina, but never made it.
By late Thursday morning, firefighters had managed to contain the flames and smoke at the Trumpf building.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have said they will investigate the crash. Connecticut’s governor, Ned Lamont, has said he will visit the site of the crash.
"I’m on the way to Farmington to assess the recent plane crash with emergency management personnel," he wrote on Twitter.
"My prayers are with those on the ground and with the souls on board."