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4 dead, 1 missing in small plane crash at Monmouth Executive Airport

Four of the five people aboard a small plane that crashed around 4pm today near Monmouth Executive Airport in New Jersey are confirmed to have been killed, and the remaining person aboard the plane is missing, the AP reports.

A witness reported that the plane appeared to “break apart” over the airfield 35 miles outside Trenton before coming down over a snowy field. Investigators indicate that there is a large “debris field” involved in the crash. Witnesses also say the plane was a Cessna 337 Skymaster, and an employee of a restaurant just outside the airport describes the crash:

Matt Giarratano, a chef at Runway 34 restaurant, which is located just off the grounds of airport, said he saw the plane approach the airport, heading south. Then, he witnessed it crash.

“I saw it coming in fast, and saw it pop back up. It was trying to land. It popped back up, then I just didn’t see it,” he said. “It broke apart. It basically became like a cloud of nothing.”

“I definitely thought they were in trouble, that’s for sure,” said Giarratano. “It looked like it was coming out of the sky.”

Victims names have not yet been released.