Plane Crashes Downtown, 2 Killed
The plane slammed into Edgewood Collision and burned part of the structure.
Web Editor: Sean Rowe
Last Modified: 10/19/2004 4:34:03 PM
Two people were killed when a twin-engine plane spiraled out of control and clipped a one-story body shop during stormy weather in downtown Atlanta Tuesday, authorities said.
"From the witness reports, he came spinning out of the sky. We have a distress signal. I haven't heard that yet," said Eric Alleyne, aviation safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
The victims' bodies were removed from the wreckage by the medical examiner. Their identities were not released.
No injuries were reported on the ground and the two people inside the business escaped without being harmed, according to Alleyne.
The Beech Baron 55 departed DeKalb-Peachtree Airport en route to Venice, Fla., according to a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane took the nose dive 12 miles away at 10:55 a.m.
One witness told 11Alive's Harry Samler, "I heard this sputtering. I thought it was doing acrobatics. He tried to go back up, but I guess he couldn't make it."
Those sounds preceded the plane’s impact at Edgewood Collision at Edgewood and Boulevard. The impact sparked a fireball, which was quickly extinguished by Atlanta firefighters arriving at the scene.
Authorities reported no other injuries in the area of northwest Atlanta, which is densely dotted with apartment-style residences and several businesses.
Local resident George White told 11Alive News he heard something sputtering in the sky before seeing the plane, literally, fall out of the sky and burst into flames upon impact.
White said, "I was checking my mailbox... All of a sudden I heard a noise like 'errrrr, errrrrr' and here come a big ol', twin-engine plane falling out of the sky."
"I ran to the scene and everything was on fire. I mean buildings, grass... I saw people crying. I saw buildings on fire. I saw fire in the water...and it was popping and it was chaos," White said.
The plane went down in the historic Sweet Auburn district and about 40 yards directly behind the birth home of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. King preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church -- only a few blocks from the crash site.
Another witness said, “Well, I was working down in the basement, I came outside…I ran out and I seen a plane fall and when it did, it just exploded. A couple of guys ran out there and tried to save a couple of people, but I guess they made it.”
“I never seen anything like this in my life,” he said.
Several park rangers from the nearby King Center were the first at the crash site. A temporary fire in the plane was also extinguished, authorities said.
Atlanta fire units 6, 10 and 12 also responded to the crash site, in addition to law enforcement from Fulton County and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
A few blocks from the crash site, Felix Folster reported seeing, “Police and fire have everything block’d off so that you can’t get that close to it. Tons of people standing around, GBI is here now, Fulton County [police].”
A spokesperson at Atlanta Medical Center says the emergency department, which includes a trauma team, went on alert to receive anyone injured at the scene. The center is located about four blocks from the crash site along Edgewood.
The NTSP said they did not know if inclement weather played a role in the incident. 11Alive Meteorologist Chris Holcomb said, "We had winds generally from the south at 10 mph but when we have these storms move through, at times we can see the winds gusting up but it wasn't really anything out of the ordinary. Winds generally could have been between 15 to 25, maybe 35 mph."
Authorities advised all drivers to use alternate routes to avoid delays in the area. Department of Transportation officials were on the scene to assist Atlanta police officers.
"We have done that at this point by putting signs up on the changeable message boards warning motorists of the crash in this area and to stay away and avoid using the exit ramps," said DOT spokeswoman Vicki Gavales.
The roadways in the area would likely remain closed until Wednesday evening while the investigation by the NTSB gets underway, according to Atlanta police spokesman John Quigley.
"On Edgewood Avenue, between the interstate and Randolph Street, Edgewood is closed down. The other major thoroughfare impacted is Boulevard. Boulevard is closed from north of Memorial Drive and south of John Wesley Dobbs Boulevard," Quigley said.
The plane was registered to J&R Aircraft Inc. of Nokomis, Fla., according to an FAA database.
http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=53450
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