The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now investigating a fatal incident in Akron, Ohio, where a small plane crashed into a home and exploded. Both pilots in the aircraft were killed, although nobody in the house was injured in the crash and ensuing fire.
What happened in the crash?
Shortly before 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, police in Akron received calls alerting them to a plane that had crashed into a home in a residential neighbourhood around 11 miles away from Akron Fulton Airport.
The aircraft, which was later confirmed by NTSB investigator Aaron McCarter to have been undertaking a training flight at the time of the crash, was a 1963 Piper Cherokee single‑engine aircraft carrying two pilots. One was a certified flight instructor, while the other was a pilot and the aircraft’s owner. Both were killed in the incident.
According to the NTSB that the flight departed from Akron Fulton Airport at around 2 p.m., flying approximately 40 miles south. At 2,500 feet, it then made two failed attempts to land. In a press conference held the following day, McCarter said that:
“During that time, something upset the aircraft. The aircraft was seen by credible witnesses and doorbell cameras spiralling out of the sky from about 1,000 feet, where it impacted the road behind me and subsequently struck the house.”
Upon hitting the house, the aircraft exploded into flames. This subsequently set the house ablaze, with videos taken by bystanders showing flames and thick black smoke emanating from the site of the impact.
None of the house’s residents were injured in the incident, although Akron District Fire Chief Sierjie Lash confirmed that all four of them were inside at the time of the crash.
What caused the crash?
It has not yet been determined exactly what caused the crash, and the NTSB is currently investigating the potential factors that may have been behind it. In particular, they have not ruled out the weather as a possible cause, with McCarter stating:
“The winds were pretty significant, gusting up to 25 knots. That’s something that we’re looking into, and they’re going to provide a weather study for us to correlate all that information.”
According to NBC, the wreckage will be removed from the home and transported to an airport for further examination. Alongside the NTSB, the review is being conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration and Ohio State Highway Patrol.
We extend our condolences to the families left bereaved by this incident. Follow us on Travel Radar to keep up with more updates on this tragic case.
