UPDATE 1/16/12
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on the Christmas Eve plane crash in Vinton County, Ohio that killed three people.

The fatal crash happened about 2 p.m. as the single engine plane was attempting to land at the Vinton County Airport. The Beech Model 19A plane impacted a road about 250 feet from the end of the runway.

Two passengers, Siobhan Reynolds, 50, of Logan, Ohio, and Eudora Byers, 78, of Mansfield, Ohio, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The pilot, 54-year-old Kevin Byers, of Baltimore, Ohio, died Christmas Day at a hospital in Columbus.

According to the NTSB report, the airport manager reported seeing the plane depart from the airport several hours before the accident. He did not see the airplane return to the airport, nor did he see the accident.

Another witness who lived in a house near the accident site, told investigators he heard the airplane “rev up.” He said he looked out a window and saw the plane above the runway and tree tops, and climbing.

The witness says he didn’t continue watching the airplane. Seconds later he says he heard a crash. He and his mother then drove to the accident site where they discovered the airplane had crashed.

The airplane sustained damage to the fuselage, both wings and landing gear. Investigators also say details of the flight were not in the flight plan.

The preliminary report did not detail why the plane crashed.

Authorities say 50-year-old Siobhan Reynolds, of New Mexico, died Saturday when the plane crashed while landing near the Vinton County Airport.

Reynolds was an advocate for Dr. Stephen Schneider and his wife, Linda, of Haysville, Kan. The Schneiders were convicted last year in a moneymaking conspiracy linked to 68 overdose deaths.

The 54-year-old pilot, attorney Kevin Byers of Baltimore, Ohio, had represented Linda Schneider in the Kansas trial. He died Sunday of his injuries. His mother, Eudora Byers of Mansfield, Ohio, died at the scene.

Reynolds was forced to dissolve her group, the Pain Relief Network, following a federal investigation of her work on the Schneiders' behalf.

A coroner's office said two women onboard were killed and the pilot was injured when the aircraft crashed Saturday afternoon near the Vinton County Airport.

The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus says the pilot, 54-year-old Kevin Byers of Baltimore, Ohio, died early Sunday morning.

Authorities identified the women who died as 78-year-old Eudora Byers of Mansfield, Ohio, and 50-year-old Siobhan Reynolds of New Mexico.

Vinton County coroner's investigator Steve Huston said the plane apparently was approaching the runway but ended up along a road parallel to the airport.

According to the Vinton County Sheriff's Office, the crash happened about 2 p.m. Saturday near the Vinton County Airport.

Deputies say when they got to the scene, two passengers were confirmed dead.

The pilot was critically injured and has been flown to a hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The names of the victims are not being released so family members can be notified.

Christmas presents could be seen inside the plane.

"These situations are always tragic," Lt. Mark Thompson with Ohio State Highway Patrol said. "It's exceptionally tragic here at the holidays."

Thompson says it appears the plane was attempting to land when it crashed.

The FAA is gathering information regarding where the plane was coming from and its final destination, as well as what caused it to crash.

Thompson says the plane was a Beechcraft Musketeer.

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Ohio State Highway Patrol officials say the call came in about 2 p.m. Saturday.

Crews are not yet on scene, and there's no word about what happened or whether anybody has been hurt.

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