Alabama

Plane crashes while trying to land, killing 6

Six people died when a small aircraft flying from central Florida to Oxford, Miss., developed engine problems and crashed Sunday morning while trying to land in Alabama, authorities said.

A pilot issued a distress signal about 11:10 a.m., and the aircraft went down moments later short of a runway at Tuscaloosa Regional Airport, said Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon during a joint news conference with Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.

Firefighters made it to the site within three minutes of the crash but were unable to save the six people on board, Herndon said.

A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration said the Piper PA-31 departed Kissimmee Gateway Airport and went down in trees while approaching the Tuscaloosa airport.

The names of the victims were not immediately released, but WLBT-TV reported that Memphis defense attorney Steve Farese said his nephew Jason Farese and his wife, Lea Farese, both dentists in Oxford, were on the plane.

— Associated Press

California

1,200 told to leave as wildfire advances

Flames racing through dry brush destroyed at least four homes and forced more than 1,000 people to flee a Northern California lake community that was evacuated in a devastating wildfire last year.

Authorities ordered about 1,200 residents to leave 500 homes as the blaze surged south of the town of Lower Lake. The wildfire spread to more than two square miles by early Sunday, and crews faced hot weather and little cloud cover as they tried to get a handle on the flames burning largely out of control.

“The fire activity could change in a moment’s notice right now,” said Suzie Blankenship, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said more evacuations were ordered Sunday afternoon in the Copsey Creek subdivision east of Lower Lake.

More than 700 firefighters were battling the two-square-mile wildfire burning east and southeast of Highway 29 in Lake County, and many more were expected to join.

Californians braced for heat Sunday, as high temperatures were expected to soar 10 degrees above normal in the southern part of the state.

— Associated Press

Rumors of shots at JFK: Reports of shots fired at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport appeared to be unfounded. Port Authority police said they did not find any firearms, ammunition, shell casings or other evidence of gunfire. Police evacuated Terminal 8 as a precaution after receiving reports of shots fired near the departures area about 9:30 p.m. Sunday. A short time later, police closed Terminal 1 after they said they received additional reports of shots there. According to the flight tracking company FlightAware, all inbound flights were being held at their origin until 11:30 p.m.

— Associated Press