3 die after plane crashes into Oregon townhomes

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — Three people were killed Saturday morning when a small plane crashed into a row of townhomes Saturday morning in a neighborhood east of Portland, Oregon, setting the homes ablaze.

The crash happened around 10:20 a.m. PDT when the plane went down near the Troutdale-Portland Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a twin-engine Cessna 421C

The plane’s two passengers died in the crash and another person was killed when the Cessna hit the townhomes, officials with the Gresham Fire Department confirmed late Saturday afternoon.

Two people were treated for injuries at the scene: one refused transport to the hospital, and the other’s condition is unknown.

Fire Chief Scott Lewis said the first call about the fire came from staff at the Troutdale airport’s control tower, who saw a thick plume of smoke rising in the air. But Lewis said that initial reports indicated “there was no mayday, no call for emergency” from the aircraft itself before it crashed.

Lewis added this became a 5-alarm fire that displaced five families and possibly a sixth.

“This particular fire was well involved. There’s flaps from the initial airplane strike. (Crews) couldn’t get into the units.”

Officials said that on the way down, the plane hit a power pole before crashing into a townhome building in Fairview Terrace. The downed power pole started a small brush fire in a nearby area, but the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said that it was in a marshy area and easily taken care of.

Due to the initial impact before the crash into the townhomes, officials said that there is a large debris field in the area.

‘It was horrible’

Residents in the area who spoke with Nexstar’s KOIN shared similar stories of the crash.

The plane “went super, super hot, super low and then, boom!” said Gina Schroeder. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. It was horrible.”

Karoline Calvert said her granddaughter wanted to see the plane because she heard it. “So I looked out the window, saw it. It’s a white plane. And then we turned around and next thing we know, the whole house was like — because it was a huge explosion.”

Donnie Calvert described it as “almost like a gas explosion.” He said he heard the plane and it “felt like it was descending. And then I next hear a big boom and I turn and that’s when I see in the house and stuff over there on fire.”

Neighbor Gina Schroeder said she just wanted to fall to the ground. “I just felt so much empathy and sadness.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash. A spokesperson said the agency was still gathering information and didn’t have immediate comment.

According to the Portland General Electric Outage map , thousands of residents in the area were without power for about 4 hours. Most of the power was restored by 3:45 p.m. PDT.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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