3 killed as small plane crashes in Md.

A small plane crashed in a field on Maryland's Eastern Shore on Wednesday, killing all three people aboard, authorities said.

The plane, a Piper PA-30 that was registered in Greenwich, Conn., was heading from White Plains, N.Y., to Pinehurst, N.C., authorities said.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Paul Schlamm said preliminary reports indicated that only three people were aboard. The passengers' identities were not immediately released.

Air traffic controllers at Patuxent River Naval Air Station had the plane on radar at 9:36 a.m. when they saw it descend rapidly, said John Romer, a base spokesman.

Authorities found debris scattered over a wide area at the muddy scene about six miles north of the Cambridge-Dorchester Airport. There was no fire or damage on the ground, said Greg Shipley, a Maryland State Police spokesman.