Two people trapped as small plane crashes into power lines in Maryland

A rescue is underway for a pilot and passenger who are trapped in a small plane that crashed into live power lines in a Maryland neighborhood on Sunday evening, causing widespread power outages.

Harrowing video captured the scene in Gaithersburg where the plane could be seen dangling 100 feet in the air from a power tower as crews work to rescue the occupants.

Maryland State Police identified the pilot as Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington, D.C. and the passenger as Jan Williams, 66, of Louisiana. Both are reportedly unharmed inside the plane as they await rescue. 

Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said in a news briefing that rescuers are in contact with the occupants.

He explained that before crews can rescue the occupants, they have to perform grounding and bonding of the power lines and secure the plane to the tower. The rescue could take several hours, he said. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the single-engine plane, which had departed White Plains, N.Y., crashed into the power lines near Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg around 5:40 p.m. Sunday.

Crews are conducting a high-angle rescue for a pilot and passenger who became trapped when a small plane crashed into live power lines in Gaithersburg, Maryland Sunday evening

Officials responded to the scene of the crash in the area of Rothbury Drive and Goshen Road in Montgomery County near Gaithersburg, a small city about 24 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. 

The FAA said the single-engine Mooney M20J departed from Westchester County Airport in White Plains. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what happened. 

The small plane remained stuck about 100 feet above the ground late into Sunday evening, and the transmission lines remained live, complicating rescue efforts, Pete Piringer, chief spokesperson for the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service, told local news outlets.

‘Everything is still energized at this time,’ he said.

The utility company Pepco reported that about 85,000-90,000 customers were without power in Montgomery County. Pepco said the plane came into contact with the company’s aerial transmission lines. 

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Harrowing photos and video captured the scene in Gaithersburg where the plane could be seen dangling 100 feet in the air from a power tower

The plane remained stuck about 100 feet above the ground, and the transmission lines remained live, complicating rescue efforts, officials said

Officials responded to the crash around 5:40 p.m. in the area of Rothbury Drive and Goshen Road in Montgomery County near Gaithersburg, 24 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.

‘The company is assessing damage and contingency opportunities to restore service to impacted customers,’ a Pepco spokesperson said. 

‘Pepco is working closely with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services and is awaiting clearance to the scene before crews can begin work to stabilize the electric infrastructure and begin restoring service.’

Montgomery County Department of Police is asking people to avoid the area of the crash as there are still live wires.

The FAA released the following statement: 

‘This information is preliminary and subject to change.

A single-engine Mooney M20J crashed into wires near Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Md., around 5:40 p.m. local time today. Two people were on board. The aircraft departed from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide additional updates.

The registration number is N201RF. You can look up the aircraft by its registration number on this webpage.

Neither agency identifies people involved in aircraft accidents.’