COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Federal Aviation Administration says two Jersey residents died when a small plane crashed in central Ohio near the end of a runway at Rickenbacker International Airport, just south of Columbus, authorities said Sunday.

The single-engine Cirrus CR22 was leaving Ohio Airport in Columbus for a trip to New Jersey when it crashed shortly before 9 a.m., destroying the airplane and killing both people on board.

The Ohio Highway Patrol identified the pair as pilot Viswanathan Rajaraman, 54, and his wife Mary Sundaram, 50, both of Franklin Lakes, N.J. Troopers said Rajaraman was a licensed pilot.


When Pilot was attempting to take off outbound to New Jersey and crashed east of the runway at airport. The plane caught fire and Hamilton and Madison township fire departments responded to the scene.

The bomb squad was called to the scene to deactivate a parachute deployment charge that the plane was equipped with. The parachute charge was deactivated without incident, the patrol said.