2 people saved after small plane crashes and gets stuck for hours in Maryland power line tower
Maryland authorities saved a pilot and his passenger early Monday morning after a small plane that departed from New York crashed into and became stuck in a power line tower, officials said.
Patrick Merkle and Janet Williams suffered what authorities described as non-life-threatening injuries after the plane collided with the live wires in Montgomery County before 6 p.m. Sunday, trapping the pair inside the plane for several hours.
Emergency responders rescued the duo using a boom truck shortly before 1 a.m., Maryland State Police said Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, along with local authorities, are now investigating why the plane — which was being piloted by Merkle — crashed into the wires located about 100 feet above the ground.
“There are no signs of criminal activity or foul play at this time,” Maryland State Police said.
The single-engine Mooney Mark 20P plane departed from the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., located about 265 miles northeast of the crash site.
Merkle, 65, and Williams, 66, were hospitalized with serious injuries, including hypothermia that developed during the nearly seven hours they were stuck in the plane, officials said. Merkle is from Washington D.C., and Williams is from Marrero, La.
The crash resulted in power outages for about 120,000 customers, according to the utility company Pepco, causing the Montgomery County Public School district to shut down its campuses Monday.
With News Wire Services
