Montgomery County plane that crashed is hanging from a power pole. More than 100,000 people are currently without power as a result of the crash.
Copyright: Pete Piringer/Montgomery Fire & Rescue
Two people are with Small plane crash in Montgomery County seriously injured in the US state of Maryland. The Mooney M20J aircraft crashed into a power pole early Sunday evening. More than 100,000 people are currently disconnected from the power grid as a result of the crash.
The machine crashed around 5.40 p.m. on Sunday evening not far from the city of Gaithersburg. said the responsible fire brigade at a press conference. The occupants, the 66-year-old pilot and a 65-year-old passenger, would have been conscious after the crash and would have telephoned the emergency services on the ground.
USA: Small plane crashes into electricity pole in Montgomery County – more than 100,000 people without power
Initially, the rescue workers assumed that both occupants were unharmed. The almost seven-hour rescue operation turned out to be extremely difficult, the hit high-voltage line was unstable. “Our rescue workers had to disconnect every single line by hand. We couldn’t see from the outside whether they were still connected or not,” said fire chief Scott Goldstein.
Around 12:30 a.m. Monday morning, the two occupants of the light aircraft were rescued, both of whom had suffered severe traumatic brain injury and had also been exposed to temperatures around freezing for a long time. The injuries are not life-threatening the fire department said.
Montgomery County: Plane crash paralyzes trains and schools
The Montgomery County government said the crash left 125,000 people partially unplugged. In addition, numerous traffic lights in the district failed, as well some train connections. Public schools and Montgomery College were also closed on Monday.
The reasons for the crash are still completely unclear. According to eyewitness reports, the machine seemed to be out of control shortly before the crash. The mast that was hit is located directly on a high-voltage line and is a critically important point for the power supply in Montgomery County.
The investigations are ongoing. Of the Power grid operator Pepco announced on Sunday evening that it would support the emergency services in the rescue work and restore the power supply as soon as possible. (shh)