Small plane crashes and burns couple on a morning stroll
Two people on a walking trail close to Delaware County Regional Airport near Muncie, Indiana, were injured after a small plane crashed.
A couple out on a morning stroll had the extremely unlikely and unfortunate experience of almost being struck by a plane.
The two victims were walking on a trail close to Delaware County Regional Airport near Muncie, Indiana, shortly before 10.30am on Monday, when a four-seater Piper Cherokee crashed onto a field.
Both pedestrians were burned by a fire that ignited as the plane smashed into two lines of trees by Cardinal Greenway path, according to the Delaware County Sheriff.
‘That’s a bad day,’ Delaware County Chief Deputy Jeff Stanley told FOX 59.
‘They’re out doing some exercise, going for a walk, and the next thing you know they’re being struck by a plane. It’s very unfortunate, we’re praying for the best for everyone involved.’
One of the individuals was in serious condition, as was the pilot who needed to be cut out of the wreckage. All three were rushed to local hospitals.
The pilot did not issue any call for help as it dropped from the sky.
‘There was no communication of an emergency from the aircraft,’ the airport’s manager, Tim Baty, told WTHR.
‘At some point, he decided he was going to circle back and basically missed the approach and circled back and this is what happened.’
The pilot got into trouble before crashing, said emergency officials.
Construction workers who were on an electrical job at the airport managed to put out the blaze before emergency responders arrived at the scene.
The plane departed form Bloomington was was supposed to land on runway 14.
Two of the victims could be transported to Indianapolis to receive more medical treatment, emergency workers said.
It was the first plane crash in Delaware County resulting in serious injuries in two decades, Baty said.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board and could take months to determine due to the condition of the wreckage being examined.
It happened a month after a small plane crashed and burned a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, killing three people.
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