© WSBT-TVThe scene in South Bend, Ind., where a small plane crashed into several houses.
A private jet apparently experiencing mechanical trouble crashed Sunday in a northern Indiana neighborhood, leaving multiple people dead after it hit three homes, becoming lodged in one of them, authorities and witnesses said.
The Beechcraft Premier I twin-jet had left Tulsa, Okla.'s Riverside Airport and crashed near South Bend Regional Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig in Oklahoma City said.
"Fatalities have been confirmed at the scene," said Deputy St. Joseph County Coroner Michael O'Connell. He would not say how many people are dead.
CBS affiliate WSBT-TV
reported that there were at least two fatalities.
The plane is registered to 7700 Enterprises of Montana LLC in Helena, Mont. The company is owned by Wes Caves and does business as DigiCut Systems in Tulsa, Okla. It makes window film and paint overlay for automobiles. Herwig said he did not know how many people were aboard the jet.
A woman identifying herself as Caves' wife answered the phone at their home Sunday and said, "I think he's dead," before hanging up.