2 killed in plane crash near western Illinois airport

MONMOUTH, Ill. -- Officials say two people aboard a plane were killed when it crashed near an airport in rural western Illinois.

The Warren County Sheriff's Department says the crash happed about 11 a.m. Sunday about a half mile from the Monmouth Municipal Airport. The department says the plane was burning when emergency crews arrived at the scene and firefighters put out the flames.

The two people found in the wreckage were pronounced dead at the scene. The department says no one on the ground was hurt by the crash about 60 miles northwest of Peoria.

The names of those killed weren't immediately released. Federal officials were notified to investigate the cause of the crash.