Washington: In a harrowing incident, a plane burst into flames before crash-landing on a busy street in Washington, United States. There were two people, including the pilot, on board the plane and but they were not seriously injured.
According to a report in Daily Mirror, dashcam footage showed the plane crash land on a road in Mukilteo, about 40 kilometres south of Seattle, on Tuesday afternoon. The aircraft, which cut the power lines and hit a traffic light pole, let out some sparks, exploded and burst into flames just before hitting the ground.
The transmission line damage caused a brief power outage in the area, said the Snohomish County Public Utilities District. The crash led to a traffic jam and several cars were damaged. A motorist said that one of the wings of the plane clipped her car and she could feel the heat from the plane’s fuel tank.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that the single-engine Piper PA32 had taken off from a nearby Paine Field Airport.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators said the pilot realised that the aircraft had started to lose power just as it took off and he chose to land it. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the engine, which led to the crash. But they appreciated the fact that he chose to land on the section of the road that was clear. Luckily, the aircraft crashed a couple of hundred yards from the intersection.
