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Two rescued from plane that crashed into live power lines in Maryland

Two rescued from plane that crashed into live power lines in Maryland

Maryland plane crash

Mass power outages were reported in Washington, DC, Sunday night after a small plane crashed into high-voltage power lines. Rescue services worked into the night to save two people on board the aircraft that got entangled in the cables.

Fire Chief Scott Goldstein of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue later informed reporters that both the people were safely brought down to the groundfrom the plane after midnight. This happened after crews from a company called AUI confirmed that there was no power in the lines near the plane, so that it would be safe for rescuers to work.

The crash happened at about 5:30 pm local time in Montgomery Village, Maryland, according to the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service and the plane got caught up in live power lines about 100 feet from the ground.

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Over 120,000 customers were affected, according to Pepco, the Washington-area utility company. Several traffic lights were also out due to power problems and roads had to be closed.

The rescue officials had been in regular contact with the occupants and calledtheir cell phones to keep an eye on their condition.

Rescue operations were earlier hampered by misty conditions and to avoid electrocution.

"There is no other way to determine if it's safe to access the tower until it is grounded, which means crews have to go up to the wires themselves to put clamps and cables onto the wires," Goldstein told reporters. This is to ensure there is no static electricity or "stray" power.

He further informed that it was important that the plane is secured to the electrical tower before the occupants can be removed. An "extraordinarily large crane" provided by a local company was on the scene, in addition to electrical tower specialists who will man large tower bucket trucks.

According to the FAA, the Mooney M20J aircraft was flying from Westchester, New York and had been due to land at Montgomery Airpark, close to the crash site.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Anamica Singh

Anamica Singh is a Senior News Editor at WION, bringing over 17 years of deep media and journalism experience to the platform. Specialising in high-impact global journalism, she le...Read More