UPDATE: At least 7 killed in Minn. plane crash 
by The Associated Press
 
OWATONNA -- Details are emerging about the plane that crashed in Owatonna (oh-wuh-TAHN'-uh), killing at least seven people.

An FAA spokeswoman says the plane crashed near or at Owatonna Degner Regional Airport. Strong thunderstorms were moving through the area at the time.

Authorities believe the plane was en route from Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The flight-tracking Web site Flight-Aware-dot-com showed that a Raytheon Hawker 800 owned by charter firm East Coast Jets Incorporated was due to fly from Atlantic City to Owatonna, arriving at 9:42 this morning. The small business jet was scheduled to leave Owatonna at 11:40 a.m. for Crossville, Tennessee.

A person who answered the phone at East Coast Jets said he had no comment.

The Owatonna People's Press reports the plane was carrying customers to Viracon, an Owatonna-based glass company.

Viracon President Don Pyatt told the newspaper that the customers were from "a couple of different companies" who were coming to the plant to discuss a project in Las Vegas. Pyatt gave no other details.

A spokeswoman for Viracon's parent company, Apogee Enterprises, confirmed to The Associated Press that the people on the plane were customers of Viracon but declined to provide any other details. She says no Viracon employees were involved in the crash.