AOL/Sky news are insinuating it came from Farnborough airport.:D reported to be a Cessna.
Small plane crashes in residential area southwest of London
By D’ARCY DORAN,AP
Posted: 2008-03-30 11:19:43
LONDON (AP) – A small plane crashed into a residential area southwest of London on Sunday, police said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The private plane crashed into a house in Farnborough, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) southwest of London just before 3 p.m. (1400 GMT), police said.
Emergency services were on the scene, a police spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with force policy. The plane crashed in a neighborhood called Broadwater Gardens, he said.
Farnborough airport is also used mostly by private planes, and it hosts the biannual Farnborough International Airshow, one of the aviation industry’s biggest events.
Sky News quoted unidentified sources as saying the plane was a Cessna.
Smoke could be seen rising from the smoldering brick house on the edge of a woodland in images shown on Sky. Fire trucks surrounded the house, which appeared to have been half destroyed.
Residents told the broadcaster they heard a plane flying in very low before hearing an explosion.
A pilot, who gave his name only as John, told Sky he was about to land at nearby Biggin Hill airport, when a mayday call came over the radio from the plane that crashed.
The pilot from the stricken plane said the aircraft was experiencing severe engine vibrations and alarms could be heard going off in the cockpit, John said. The pilot said he had five people onboard and wanted to make an emergency landing, he added.
John said after he landed he turned back to see the stricken plane just before it came down.
“It nose dived out of the sky and the radio went dead,” he said.
Karl Mills said the plane nearly hit his house.
“It was the loudest noise I ever heard. It was like a bolt of thunder,” Mills told Sky News. “I looked out and saw a ball of fire.”
He said the plane crashed into the roof of a neighboring house before bursting into flames.
“I hope nobody was inside it,” Mills said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
03/30/08 11:18 EDT
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