OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (BNc)- Two Christians were among the five killed in a plane crash Tuesday soon after taking off from Wiley Post Airport.

Rick Sandoval and Tim Hartman were the pilots of the Cessna 500 Citation 1 which lost control after lifting off about 3:15 p.m. yesterday. All five occupants of the plane were killed.

Rick, 40, was a missionary in Vitória, Brazil, for a number of years during the 90s. He was active in the Weatherford church. He and his wife Monika have three children, Hannah, Luke and Julia.

Tim, 44, was a deacon at the South Yukon congregation. He and his wife Audra, married for 23 years, have two sons, Matt, 17, and Marc, 13.

One eyewitness saw a flock of birds around the area of takeoff and believed he heard a bird sucked through an engine.

The plane was headed for Mankato, Minn.

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