Authorities say four people were hospitalized in serious to critical condition after a small plane crashed into the yard of a suburban Denver home after attempting to land in the street.
DENVER — Four people were hospitalized in serious to critical condition after a small plane crashed into the yard of a suburban Denver home after attempting to land in the street, authorities said.
The plane caught fire after crashing, and all four passengers on the plane suffered injuries, including burns, said Alex Lemishko, senior accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. Two of the four people hospitalized following the crash in Arvada, about 12 miles northwest of Denver, were adults. But it was not yet clear whether the other two people were adults or children, he added.
No one in the house, located on a street parallel to the railroad tracks, was injured, he said.
The 1969 Beechcraft 35 crashed about 15 minutes after taking off from Centennial Airport south of Denver, apparently heading for another commuter airport about 30 miles northwest, Rocky Metropolitan Airport Mountain, Lemishko said.
The unidentified pilot radioed that he was experiencing engine problems shortly before the crash and was planning to land at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, which was likely visible from the air at the time. – there, said Lemishko.
Instead, the pilot attempted to land on the street of a residential neighborhood, he said. The plane’s left wing struck a large spruce tree, and the plane skidded onto the road and veered into the yard, he said. The plane also struck a pickup truck parked on the street in front of the home, pushing the truck into the home’s driveway into another truck, Aurora Fire spokeswoman Deanna Harrington said.
A road or even a railway is a reasonable option for a pilot to attempt to land if they can’t get to an airport, Lemishko said.
“I’m sure what was going through the pilot’s mind was ‘I see a route, I need to get this plane down, let’s try,'” he said.
The plane was on fire when firefighters responded to the crash around 9:30 a.m., said Matt Osier, Arvada Fire operations chief.