TWO KILLED IN PLANE CRASH AT FARMINGTON

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- A small airplane crashed in a wooded area near a busy street in Farmington Tuesday, killing pilot Don Mercer and a female passenger believed to be his wife.

St. Francois County Coroner James Coplin said the two people were the only occupants the 1975 Cessna 210L, which took off from Gallatin, Tenn., at around 1 p.m.

He said both Mercer and his passenger appeared to be in their mid-60s.

The woman is believed to be Edith Mercer based on information from family members, said Greg Beavers, Farmington city administrator. No identification for her was found at the scene.

A source who asked not to be identified said the couple flew to Missouri to attend the funeral of Mercer's sister in Potosi, not far from Farmington. The couple had originally planned to stop in Cape Girardeau, Mo., to pick up Mercer's brother, but didn't.

Officials and witnesses said the propeller appeared to fall off before the plane crashed. It was found several yards away from the crash site.

"I was hoping it was someone coming out of the plane," said Becky Horner, 33, who watched the crash from her yard. "I was hoping that was what I was seeing."

Horner said it sounded like the plane was having engine trouble, backfiring several times before seizing. It glided for a short time before turning to the right and crashing.

"I think he was trying to miss us, really," Horner said. "He was headed right toward us, right to where we live."

The plane crashed nose-down into a wooded area behind a storage shed complex off Karsch Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in the southeast Missouri town, about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis. Homes and apartments were just a few hundred yards away.

The plane did not strike any buildings or crash near people, authorities said.