2 dead in North Texas plane crash

GAINESVILLE, Texas (AP) — A flight instructor and her student are dead after the fiery crash of their twin-engine plane at a North Texas airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the Piper PA-34 went down soon after 4 p.m. Sunday while preparing to land at the municipal airport in Gainesville, about 75 miles northwest of Dallas. It crashed about 440 yards from a runway.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Chinese student pilot Yu Qiu, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene. Instructor Francesca Norris, 25, of North Richland Hills later died at a hospital.

It’s unclear who was in control when the plane went down. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

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The FAA has not yet released the plane’s tail number.