Tragedy as five people aboard a single-engine plane died last night when it crashed attempting to make an emergency landing near an interstate highway.
The pilot made an emergency call to John C Tune Airport at around 7.40pm in Nashville, Tennessee, authorities have reported. The pilot told air traffic control they had engine trouble and was cleared to make an emergency landing.
However, a short time later, they radioed back to say they wouldn’t reach the airport.
The aircraft burst into flames when it crashed on a grassy median just off Interstate 40. The crash site is behind a Costco superstore on the west side of the city, around 3 miles south of the general aviation airport.
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“5 persons on board the airplane perished in the crash,” Metro Nashville Police Department said on Twitter.
However, the exact number of fatalities is yet to be determined until the wreckage is fully searched.
Public Information Officer of Metro Fire Department, Kendra Loney, told WTVF-TV pieces of wreckage were scattered around the scene. Fire crews worked quickly to gather up the debris to ensure the highway was safe for drivers.
He added no drivers on the interstate were injured, and no vehicles or buildings had been damaged.
Authorities are working to determine where the aircraft was flying from.
Nashville mayor Freddie O’Connell paid respects to the victims in a post on X (Twitter): “Our thoughts go out to the loved ones of all those on board the single-engine aircraft that crashed near Interstate 40 this evening.
“I want to thank the Metro emergency responders who were on site quickly and extinguished the fire.”
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
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