BUTTE – A small plane carrying a group of people from California to Montana crashed into a cemetery not far from the airport in Butte and burst into flames, killing seven adults and seven children.
‘There was nothing left of it,’ said Steve Guidoni of Butte, who watched the crash on Sunday. ‘It just went straight into the ground. I went over there to try to help. I thought maybe I would pull someone out of the fire.’
The death toll was confirmed by Karen Byrd, a Federal Aviation Administration operations officer in Renton, Washington.
The single-engine turboprop crashed and burned at Holy Cross Cemetery, 152 metres short of Bert Mooney Airport in Butte, said FAA spokesman Mike Fergus.
The plane was believed to be taking its occupants on a ski trip. ‘We think that it was probably a ski trip for the kids,’ Fergus said.
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board offered few details at a news conference in Butte on Sunday night. No cause of the crash was given.
The aircraft had departed from Oroville, California, and the pilot had filed a flight plan showing a destination of Bozeman, about 137 kilometres southeast of Butte. But the pilot cancelled his flight plan at some point and headed for Butte, Fergus said.
Butte Silver-Bow Sheriff John Walsh said there were a few people at the cemetery at the time of the crash, but no one on the ground was injured.
Nick Dipasquale, 19, was working at a gas station across the street. ‘I heard a loud bang,’ he said. ‘It sounded like someone ran into the building.’
He said he ran outside to see flames as tall as the trees.
Fergus said the Pilatus PC-12 aircraft was manufactured in 2001.
– Nampa-AP
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
