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3 dead, others unaccounted for after plane crashes into house in Gaithersburg 3 dead, 3 others unaccounted for after plane crashes into house in Gaithersburg
(35 minutes later)
Three people were killed when a plane crashed into a house in Montgomery County on Monday morning, and several people on the ground are unaccounted for, authorities said. Three people were killed when a plane crashed into a house in Montgomery County on Monday morning, and three people on the ground — a mother and her two small children — are unaccounted for, authorities said.
All three people were aboard the plane. The incident occurred about a mile northwest of the Montgomery County Airpark. The three people confirmed dead were aboard the plane. The incident occurred about a mile northwest of the Montgomery County Airpark.
Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department, said “no one was transported to a hospital. They were not able to survive the crash.”Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department, said “no one was transported to a hospital. They were not able to survive the crash.”
About 1:20 p.m., Piringer said that several people who were thought to reside at 19733 Drop Forge Lane near where the crash occurred “are still unaccounted for.” At 2 p.m., Montgomery County Fire Chief Steven E. Lohr said at a news conference that three people were unaccounted for and that they are residents of 19733 Drop Forge Lane, a home in the cul-de-sac which the plane crashed into.
The incident occurred near Drop Forge Lane off Snouffer School Road in Gaithersburg. Just after 11 a.m., a Montgomery fire department official said in a Twitter message that several houses were damaged and that firefighters were involved in a “search, rescue & firefight.” He later said that the three people are a mother and her two children. He said that firefighters had gone through “about 50 percent of the house” as of Monday afternoon. Two other homes were also damaged in the crash.
In a interview with news Channel 4 NBC by phone, Piringer said that initial reports were that one home was struck and that three houses in total were damaged. Lohr said officials from the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to give an update at 4 p.m. Monday.
The crash occurred near Snouffer School Road in Gaithersburg. Just after 11 a.m., a Montgomery fire department official said in a Twitter message that several houses were damaged and that firefighters were involved in a “search, rescue & firefight.”
Lohr said the initial call came in from a National Guard armory across the street as a report of an explosion and building fir, and authorities found that it was a plane that had crashed into the houses.
Authorities said the plane was preliminarily identified as a private jet owned by an aviation company based in Chapel Hill, N.C. It reportedly had turned on final approach to land at the nearby airpark, just behind a Cessna 172 propeller-driven plane.Authorities said the plane was preliminarily identified as a private jet owned by an aviation company based in Chapel Hill, N.C. It reportedly had turned on final approach to land at the nearby airpark, just behind a Cessna 172 propeller-driven plane.
The jet that crashed was a twin-engine Embraer EMB-500/Phenom 100, which can carry four to six passengers. The incident was reported about 11 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration and the NTSB will investigate.The jet that crashed was a twin-engine Embraer EMB-500/Phenom 100, which can carry four to six passengers. The incident was reported about 11 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration and the NTSB will investigate.
“We are sending someone out there right now,” said Eric Weiss, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. “We are sending someone out there right now,” said Eric Weiss, a spokesman for the NTSB.
The airpark is an uncontrolled runway, which means that, as opposed to larger airports, there is no air traffic control tower directing final approach.The airpark is an uncontrolled runway, which means that, as opposed to larger airports, there is no air traffic control tower directing final approach.
Byron Valencia, 31, who lives about a half-mile from the crash site, said he heard a thump and ran upstairs to check on his 2-month-old son. Valencia said at the time that he was in his kitchen making a bottle for the baby.Byron Valencia, 31, who lives about a half-mile from the crash site, said he heard a thump and ran upstairs to check on his 2-month-old son. Valencia said at the time that he was in his kitchen making a bottle for the baby.
“I heard the plane come over the house,” he said. “This one sounded like a jet, and then I heard a thump. It was pretty loud. I didn’t see anything but then I heard the sirens.” He said he then listened to his police scanner and heard of the crash.“I heard the plane come over the house,” he said. “This one sounded like a jet, and then I heard a thump. It was pretty loud. I didn’t see anything but then I heard the sirens.” He said he then listened to his police scanner and heard of the crash.
“It’s a little nerve wracking,” he said of airplanes coming into the nearby airport in Gaithersburg. “They make you nervous because you never know when something can happen, and sure enough, something did happen.”“It’s a little nerve wracking,” he said of airplanes coming into the nearby airport in Gaithersburg. “They make you nervous because you never know when something can happen, and sure enough, something did happen.”
Tracy Everett said he was driving his work truck when he looked up and saw that the plane was “unsteady” and in trouble.Tracy Everett said he was driving his work truck when he looked up and saw that the plane was “unsteady” and in trouble.
“It was wobbly,” Everett said. “It was 100 to 200 above the trees.” He said the plane then did a rolling dive to the left, and then “I saw smoke.”“It was wobbly,” Everett said. “It was 100 to 200 above the trees.” He said the plane then did a rolling dive to the left, and then “I saw smoke.”
He said he drove to the scene and “saw and heard a secondary explosion. It was so powerful you could feel it under your feet.”He said he drove to the scene and “saw and heard a secondary explosion. It was so powerful you could feel it under your feet.”
Staff writer Ashley Halsey III and researcher Alice Crites contributed to this report. Jocelyn Brown, 21, lives one street over from the crash site and said she heard the plane hit while inside her house.
She ran over to the crash site and said the plane looked like “it just fell apart.”
“It’s like somebody took the screws out,” she said, the house right behind her still smoldering.
Staff writers Ashley Halsey III and Mike Rosenwald and researcher Alice Crites contributed to this report.
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