Three people have been killed after a small plane crashed in a residential street in Oregon, setting homes a blaze in a “huge fireball,” according to a neighbor.
A twin-engine Cessna 421C plane flew into a row of townhouses in the Portland neighborhood of Fairview on Saturday morning.
The plane went down around 10:20 a.m., close to the nearby Troutdale airport where it was heading. The website for the Port of Portland, which oversees general aviation and marine operations in the area, describes Troutdale Airport as a “flight training and recreational airport.”
Officials said the three deceased people are the Cessna 421C pilot, a passenger and someone who lived in one of the townhouses who was previously unaccounted for, reported KPTV.
Local news stations showed the aftermath of the crash, with one house engulfed in flames. Firefighters were eventually able to extinguish the blaze at the home.
Stock image of police tape. Three people were dead after a small plane crashed into a row of townhouses on Saturday morning in a neighborhood in eastern Portland, Oregon.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
Local resident Frederick Gilbert was having a cigarette outside when he heard the sound of a plane engine.
“There was an instant fireball. I’ve never seen a fire go so fast,” Gilbert told KPTV.
“I felt it slam against the side of the building. My wife was inside. When I came around the corner, there was a huge fireball.”
At least five families have been displaced from their homes following the crash.
Thousands of people also lost electricity for hours due to downed power lines after the plane came down.
“At some point during the crash, it hit a power pole or tower, causing it to fall over. The aircraft crashed into a building of townhomes and that structure also caught fire,” Deputy John Plock, of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, told KATU.
Plock and Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis also said several people were injured as a result of the crash, although no further details were provided, according to KGW8.
The plane was split into multiple parts as it crashed down in Fairview, which is home to about 10,000 people and located in eastern Portland.
Gresham Fire posted on social media that they responded to the crash with multiple other agencies assisting, including the Port of Portland, Portland Fire and Rescue, and Clackamas Fire.
An investigation is now underway to determine the cause of the crash.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administrationn (FAA) said, “A twin-engine Cessna 421C crashed near the Troutdale Airport in Oregon around 10:30 a.m. local time.
“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide any updates.”
The NTSB and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office have been contacted for comment via email.
