MELBOURNE, Australia—An Australian pilot and four American tourists on a golfing vacation were killed when a light plane crashed in flames into a shopping mall on Tuesday shortly after takeoff in the Australian city of Melbourne, officials said.
The five were on a twin-engine Beechcraft Super King Air that crashed about 45 minutes before the Direct Factory Outlet mall in suburban Essendon was to open, Police Minister Lisa Neville said.
The U.S. Embassy in Canberra confirmed that four victims were U.S. citizens. Texans Greg Reynolds De Haven and Russell Munsch have been identified by their families on social media as two of the victims.
De Haven’s sister Denelle Wicht posted on Facebook that her 70-year-old brother had been killed “on a once in a lifetime trip to Australia” with friends.
The pilot was Max Quartermain, owner of the charter company Corporate and Leisure Travel.
