Federal authorities on Sunday were investigating the fiery crash of a small plane into a suburban Minneapolis home that killed all aboard and engulfed the house in flames.
The SOCATA TBM7 plane crashed in Brooklyn Park around 12:20 p.m. Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The aircraft departed Des Moines International Airport and was headed to Anoka County-Blaine Airport in Minneapolis, according to the agency.
There were no survivors in the plane, Brooklyn Park Fire Chief Shawn Conway said Saturday. Conway said he did not know how many people were on the plane or their identities. All residents of the house were safe, he said.
“I was watching TV on the couch, and the whole house shook like I’d never seen,” neighbor Joan Johnson told WCCO-TV. “We ran and looked out the window and saw the billowing black smoke.”
Kelly Bier, who leaves near the home that was hit, said she was praying for everyone involved in the crash.
“Can’t imagine this happening to anybody,” Bier told KSTP.com.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a social media post he was closely monitoring the situation and was “grateful to the first responders answering the call.”
Plane had come from Florida via Iowa
According to FlightAware, the single-prop plane flew from Naples, Florida, and landed in Des Moines at around 10:30 a.m. The plane took off 45 minutes later. It crashed six minutes before its scheduled landing time. The National Transportation Safety Board said the “preliminary information we have is the plane impacted a residence and experienced a post-crash fire.”
Robin King, director of community relations and communications for Naples Municipal Airport, said the plane’s owner is not a tenant of the airport. King said records show the plane arrived there March 22 and departed the day of the crash.
Sarah Hoodjer, communications, marketing and air service development manager at the Des Moines International Airport, said the NTSB was leading the investigation.
“We are aware of this incident and our thoughts are with those affected,” she said.
− Contributing: Kyle Werner, Corey Schmidt and Mark H. Bickel, Des Moines Register
