MOSCOW—A small passenger plane skidded off a runway in eastern Siberia on Thursday, June 27, killing two crewmembers and injuring dozens of passengers.
The An-24 plane, carrying 43 passengers, experienced an engine failure and crash-landed in the town of Nizhneangarsk Thursday morning, Russia’s top investigation body, the Investigative Committee, said in a statement.
The jet crashed into a building and caught fire. Footage from the scene showed the plane lying on its belly with the nose broken off.
Officials said that two crew members survived, while a pilot with 34 years of experience and a flight mechanic died on the spot. The Buryatia governor had previously said both pilots had died.
More than 30 people have been injured, and nine were taken to hospitals with severe burns and other injuries, said Alexei Fishev, spokesman for the local governor.
Investigators have launched a probe into breach of safety procedures onboard An-24, which is a mainstay of the Russian aviation.
Plane Crashes Into North Carolina Home
Before midnight, also on June 27, authorities in North Carolina say a small plane crashed into a home, killing two people and injuring another.
A release from the State Highway Patrol says the single-engine civilian plane went down shortly in Hope Mills.
The pilot and an occupant of the home died at the scene, while another occupant of the residence was hospitalized with serious injuries.
This is the closest that we’re able to get to the scene. The plane crash is just beyond this crime scene tape and that utility vehicle. Neighbors tell us they heard the plane sputtering before it crashed into a home. One person inside killed along with the pilot #abc11 pic.twitter.com/lLE4AxKnMx
— Morgan Norwood (@MorganABC11) June 28, 2019
Aerial images from news helicopters show a home surrounded by yellow police tape with nearly half its roof smashed in and debris scattered around the residential lot.
Eyewitnesses told WTVD-TV they heard the plane’s engine making sputtering noises. Jennifer Kelton’s family was having dinner when they heard the plane pass, followed by an explosion.
“It was a double-wide modular home, and it (the plane) came in and it took the whole back of the house out,” eyewitness Kenny Oxendine told WTVD-TV.
“I never heard anything that loud,” Jennifer told the station. “It really did buzz over the roof.”
LIVE: 2 dead, 1 seriously injured after small plane crashes into Hope Mills home: https://t.co/dRSopqLOiG
— ABC11 EyewitnessNews (@ABC11_WTVD) June 28, 2019
The home is in the vicinity of U.S. Highway 301, less than 5 miles southwest of the Fayetteville Regional Airport. Nearby are several businesses along with homes on other residential streets.
No identities have been released and the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Troopers and Cumberland County deputies were awaiting federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration as of early Friday.
NTD News staff contributed to this article.
