Aviation Accident: Plane Crash Kills 3 People, Damages Houses
February 17, 2010
East Palo Alto - A small plane crashed Wednesday morning in a residential neighborhood after it flew into power lines, killing all three passengers onboard and damaging several houses and cars, local officials said.
In a statement, Menlo Park Fire Protection District chief Harold Schapelhouman said all the victims of the crash were employees of car company Tesla Motors. Schapelhouman said the plane crashed onto several park vehicles, a day care center, and other three houses along Beech Street.
"Miraculously, no one was hurt on the ground", he said.
Initial investigation revealed that the plane, which took off from Palo Alto airport despite a thick fog, flew directly to power lines connected to a 100-ft tower at 7:55 am.
The crash has caused power outage near the area, affecting more than 28,000 customers including several schools, business establishments, and a hospital. Meanwhile, city officials said the power is expected to return to normal at 5:30 pm.
When asked for comments, Tesla Motors officials said the crash which killed three of their employees, whom they did not identify, is a tragic loss for the company.
Meanwhile, Federal Aviation Administration Spokesman Ian Gregor said they will conduct further investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
But Gregor believed the accident could have been caused by human error and weather.
“We provide pilots with weather information so they can decide if it is safe to fly or not. However, we do not tell them whether they can take off”, Gregor said.
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