``I am greatly saddened by the loss of our crew,'' said Philip Trenary, chief executive of Pinnacle Airlines of Memphis. ``My prayers and the prayers of all Pinnacle people are with their family and loved ones.''
The airline did not identify the pilots, pending the notification of their families.
At a morning news conference, police in Jefferson City said they had no indication that any residents were injured or killed in the crash of the CRJ2, a two-engine regional jet that seats up to 50 people.
The plane was operated by Pinnacle, a regional carrier affiliated with Northwest Airlines, Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said. Police Capt. Michael Smith said some witnesses reported having seen the plane on fire shortly before it crashed.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the scene Friday morning, and already had possession of the plane's flight data recorder. They planned a news conference for 10:30 a.m. CDT.
