2 dead in small plane crash on Whidbey Island

WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. – Two people are dead after a small plane crashed Wednesday on Whidbey Island southeast of Langley, officials with South Whidbey Fire say.

According to the FAA, the single-engine Cessna 177 Cardinal went down just west of the runway at the Whidbey Airpark just before 12pm. It hit the ground and ended up in a patch of woods nearby.

The FAA says preliminary reports are that two people were on board. The Island County Sheriff's Office says both occupants died in the crash.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.