HOUSTON – Two people were injured when the small airplane they were traveling in crashed into the front yard of a home in the Bear Creek area of Harris County.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the pilot put out a mayday call about 1 a.m. and said the aircraft, which was headed to Sugar Land, had lost power at an altitude of 7,000 feet.
Investigators said the pilot ended up having to divert to a place where he believed he could land. Just before 2 a.m., the plane clipped a tree and light pole before slamming into the ground outside of a home in the 15700 block of Boulder Oaks Drive.
Residents of the neighborhood described hearing a loud boom as the plane crashed.
Ryan Carter said he came outside to find the pilot still trapped in the plane.
“He wasn’t there at all, I was just asking him if he could hear me,” said Carter.
The pilot suffered a head injury while the passenger suffered a broken wrist, officials said. Both were taken to a hospital for treatment. aboard the plane were taken to a hospital to be treated for their injuries.
Who owns the plane?
Records indicate the 1972 Piper PA-28, single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft belongs to Anson Aviation out of Sugar Land. The company said the plane was properly maintained and the pilot was well-qualified.
The company said the pilot was completing a lesson in the commercial pilot training course that requires a long cross-country flight at night with stops at three airports. It also said it is gathering more information about the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Federal Aviation Administration investigators responded to the crash site and the FAA released the following statement:
“A single-engine Piper PA-28 with two people aboard crashed early this morning in a residential area in Houston, Texas.
The accident occurred at approximately 2 a.m. local time while the plane was flying to Sugarland, Texas. FAA investigators have been dispatched to the accident site, and the National Transportation Safety Board, which will be in charge of the investigation, has been notified.”