Residents in a neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi got a huge shock when a small plane carrying three people crashed into a home near the airport.
A Piper PA-32 single-engine plane, owned by the Superior Pallet Company in Flowood, Miss, crashed into at least one home on Tuesday evening. It is not clear how many casualties there are. According to the Associated Press, one person escaped the burning home and another patient was in good condition at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Witnesses spoke to the Clarion Ledger about what they saw and heard when the plane was crashing.
"I heard a sound like it ran out of gas, and it was right over my house. All of a sudden, it just started descending, about four houses away from me, and it got real low almost at the top of the trees, then it fell into a house," resident Bill Hankins told the Ledger.
"It was a blast of fire and smoke. There were police cars all in front of my house, and there were so many fire trucks out there. It sounded just like a bomb went off, it descended so fast," Hankins said. "It came down so low, I knew he couldn't make it (back to Hawkins Field) as he was so low over the trees. It wasn't even dark."
Wanda Quon, principal at Pecan Park Elementary , was at work near where the plane crashed when it occurred.
"We heard the explosion, and it shook the building," Quon told the Ledger. "My librarian was there, and her first thought was what if a plane crashed. She said she heard a sputtering noise before it happened. We went outside, and you could see smoke."
"Then we walked out, and you could see the flames. I guess it's about a block away from the school. We had an after-school program going on. We had kids there."
The smoke from the crash rose about 50 feet above the neighborhood, which is made up of single-family homes.
According to the FAA, the small plane just left the Hawkins Field Airport and was headed for Raymond, Miss., before it crashed. A press release said that the pilot of the plane requested to turn back to Hawkins but it didn't make it.
It is not clear what caused the crash at this time, but the FAA will lead an investigation.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
