Small Plane Crashed into Power Lines in Maryland – Watch

This was a plane accident that could have ended so badly. A pilot and a passenger in a small place crashed into a high-tension power line in Maryland.

They were stuck 100 feet off of the ground for seven hours as a rescue crew came up with a plan to safely get them down. 

A Mooney M20J single-engine plane hit the power lines near Gaithersburg at about 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 27. The plane was left dangling in the air and it knocked out power to 120,000 homes. 

“It’s crazy, I’ve never seen anything like it,” bystander Christopher Wright said. “It looks like a scene out of a movie.”

Emergency crews in Montgomery County worked through the night to get the plane stable so that it would not fall during the rescue operation. They were also able to shut down the power on lines that would have harmed the rescue personnel or the people on the plane. 

“The No. 1 priority is getting the bucket trucks up and getting the bonding and grounding secured and then the plane secured,” Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said at a press conference. 

Patrick Merkle, 65, was the pilot and his passenger was Jan Williams, 66. They could not move for hours while being suspended 10 stores high. After the plane was lowered to the ground, they were taken to a hospital after suffering hypothermia and traumatic injuries that were not life-threatening, officials said.

Their plane took off from Westchester County Airport in New York on Nov. 27 before crashing into the power lines. It is not clear what caused the crash, officials said. Authorities say foggy conditions in the area impacted visibility.

The pilot was able to call 911 after the crash from a cell phone and was able to communicate that way to officials. 

“I did see the pilot stick his hand out the window, waving his hand up and down just to signal that there’s somebody in there that’s alive,” Wright said.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are now working to determine the cause of the crash.

 

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