A small plane crashed into an unoccupied administration building at an Elk County airport after a pilot and his girlfriend attempted to hand prop the aircraft Sunday afternoon.
The crash occured at St. Mary's Municipal Airport shortly before 1 p.m. when the pilot attempted to manually turn on the propeller outside the plane with his girlfriend inside, said Airport Manager Alan McPherson.
Officials believe the woman did not know how to control the aircraft as it took off and struck the airport's empty administration building.
The airport was originally scheduled to be closed today, but the runway remained open for use.
The pilot and his girlfriend, who were not injured in the crash, were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, McPherson said.
A small fuel leak was discovered at the crash site and emergency services were called in to make repairs.
