Saipan Times, "7 survive plane crash"

         A full seven-seater Piper Cherokee plane en route to Tinian crashed at 2:15am yesterday, a minute after taking off from the Saipan International Airport. No casualties were reported. All seven passengers, including the main pilot and a co-pilot, suffered major injuries and were rushed to the Commonwealth Health Center.
         In a news briefing at past 9am yesterday at the airport, Commonwealth Ports Authority officials described the incident as "a forced landing" half a mile southeast from the airport's runway 25. CPA acting executive director Reno Celis said, though, that the pilot informed the airport traffic control tower that it was "losing power." The Department of Public Safety immediately secured the crash site while waiting for Honolulu-based investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB.
         In a long distance telephone interview yesterday afternoon, NTSB investigator Wayne Pollack, who is assigned to head the crash investigation, said the incident happened a minute after the plane took off from the airport. "The pilot reported to the airport traffic control that he was going down, and proceeded to crash. A post-impact fire consumed the aircraft," Pollack said.