80,000 People Without Power after a Plane Crashed into a Power Line
On the night of Sunday, November 27th, pilot Patrick Merkle, 66, of Washington D.C., and passenger Janet Williams were flying from White Plains, New York to Gaithersburg, Maryland in a small passenger plane.
Published 2 years ago in Facepalm
On the night of Sunday, November 27th, pilot Patrick Merkle, 66, of Washington D.C., and passenger Janet Williams were flying from White Plains, New York to Gaithersburg, Maryland in a small passenger plane. At around 5:30 PM they accidentally crashed into a transmission tower as they approached their destination. The crash left over 88,000 without power in the Montgomery County area.
#BREAKING: A small plane has crashed into a high voltage powerlines
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) November 27, 2022
#Montgomery | #Maryland
Dozens of emergency crews are responding to a small aircraft that has crashed into high voltage powerlines, causing massive power outages too 80,000 people in Montgomery county MD pic.twitter.com/pZIo9DDvVB
The two remained there suspended from the electrical tower from 5:30 PM until 12:30 AM as crews worked tirelessly to ground the tower to prevent electrocution and fix the plane to the tower to prevent it from falling.
ICYMI @MontgomeryCoMD Rescue operations @mcfrs@dcfireems Technical Rescue Team(s) rescue/removed 2 adult occupants trapped on plane that crashed into power lines in Gaithersburg, MD area. Tower & Crane company (contractors) working w/ PEPCO & @mcfrs to get plane down. https://t.co/bgesIAf7uQpic.twitter.com/sY3O0Eq2tG
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) November 28, 2022
Miraculously, the two passengers survived with non-life-threatening injuries. One is in the hospital recovering and the other has reportedly been released. PEPCO (The Potomac Electric Power Company) announced they will begin repairs after conducting a full assessment of the damage. It’s not yet known what caused the crash but the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are currently investigating.