Terrifying…
Yesterday evening, a small plane crashed directly beside I-40 here in Nashville, narrowly missing not only the interstate and the cars driving on it but also a nearby shopping center that’s home to a busy Costco and Target, among other stores.
The plane, which originated in Canada, was a Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II single engine plane that made stops in Erie, Pennsylvania and Mount Sterling, Kentucky before continuing its journey. But just after passing over John Tune Airport in Nashville (which isn’t the main airport, but a smaller one a few miles west of downtown), the pilot reported engine issues and attempted to turn around and head back to John Tune.
But according to air traffic control audio, he soon realized he wasn’t going to make it, telling the controller:
“I’m going to land…I don’t know where.”
Tragically, all five of the occupants of the plane were killed in the crash, but it’s a miracle that it went down where it did because it could have been a hell of a lot worse if the plane had landed on the busy interstate or on the Costco just a few feet away.
And harrowing video from the street cameras shows just how close this tragedy came to being much worse than it was.
In video from the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s SmartWay camera, you can see the plane pass just in front of the camera before crashing into a ball of fire right beside the passing cars.
And video from yet another angle shows just how close the plane was to the interstate when it went down, coming just over the top of the cars below it.
Insane. I can’t imagine what those drivers were thinking as they saw a plane coming down right over top of them.
Video taken by passersby shows the aftermath of the scary scene as crews worked to put out the massive fire:
The NTSB and FAA are on the scene today to investigate the accident and try to determine a cause for the plane’s engine failure, as well as the identities of the five victims.
Just a terrible tragedy all around, but one that could have been so much worse than it was.
