South Bend, Indiana: A private jet apparently experiencing mechanical trouble crashed into an Indiana neighbourhood, hitting three homes and leaving two people on board the plane dead, authorities said.
The crash Sunday injured two other people on board the Beechcraft Premier I twin-jet and one person on the ground, South Bend Assistant Fire Chief John Corthier said. Corthier said officials believe everyone connected with the damaged homes had been accounted for and there were no known missing people.
The jet had left Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Riverside Airport and crashed late Sunday afternoon near South Bend Regional Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig in Oklahoma City said.
South Bend Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Maggie Scroope said three people injured in the crash were being treated there. One was in a serious condition and two were in a fair condition.
The plane was registered to 7700 Enterprises of Montana LLC in Helena, Montana. The company is owned by Wes Caves and does business as DigiCut Systems in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Although authorities believe everyone was accounted for, Corthier said firefighters still want to search a heavily damaged home.
“I believe they said they’re going to have to tear down a portion of the house to make it stable. That probably won’t happen until (Monday),” he said.
Jet fuel inside another house posed a hazard, Corthier said.
“The leaking has stopped, but there is fuel in the basement. That is one of our major concerns, the fuel,” Corthier said.
An engine company was en route to the airport when its members witnessed the crash, Corthier said.
“Our arrival on the scene was immediate. Our working to get the occupants out started immediately. We were able to get some of the occupants out of the plane right away,” Corthier said.
A National Transportation Safety Board investigator arrived on the scene Sunday night.
Part of the neighbourhood southwest of the airport was evacuated after the crash, and Corthier said it was possible some residents would return to their homes Sunday night.
Electricity was cut off to part of the neighbourhood.
Mike Daigle, executive director of the St Joseph County Airport Authority, said the jet attempted a landing about 4.15pm, went back up and maneuvered south to try another landing, but eight minutes later the airport learned the plane was no longer airborne.
“There was an indication of a mechanical problem,” Herwig said.
Stan Klaybor, who lives across the street from the crash scene, said the jet clipped the top of one house, heavily damaged a second, and finally came to rest against a third. Neighbours did not know if a woman living in the most heavily damaged house was home at the time, and a young boy in the third house did not appear to be seriously injured, Klaybor said.
“Her little boy was in the kitchen and he got nicked here,” Klaybor said, pointing to his forehead.
