3 dead in small-plane crash in East Palo Alto
A small plane crashed this morning in a housing neighborhood in East Palo Alto, killing three people onboard, authorities said.
The plane crashed on the 1200 block of Beech Street near Pulgas Avenue about 7:55 a.m., said Lt. Ray Lunny from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department. A home about the street was damaged and the plane destroyed three cars, Lunny said, but there was no reports of injuries about the ground.
FAA records show that the plane is registered to Air Unique Inc. of Santa Clara. It had manufactured in 1976.
Gregor said the cause from the crash was not known, but there have been reports that the plane hit an electric tower or wires on takeoff. There were also thick fog where the plane crashed.
Power outages were reported inside the area. Palo Alto officials said major power outages were affecting the city and that residents were being asked to conserve water while power is out. Water transmission banks on electrical power and Palo Alto has limited reserves inside the water system, city officials said.
Palo Alto’s electricity technique are municipally owned. Joe Molica, a spokesman for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., said none with the utility’s customers was affected but the crash had damaged three transmission lines that feed into Palo Alto’s system.
David Rages, who lives on the 1000 block of Beech Street about a block from where the plane landed inside the street, said he had heard a loud boom when the plane landed, then silence.
“At first I didn’t think anything of it,” Rages said. He walked down the block a short time later to where police and fire officials had blocked from the street and was able to see some dark smoke, but no fire through the fog.
Neighbors said the plane hit a family-owned day care center, but that no children were there during the time.
Small planes fly over the area all the time, Rages said, adding he’s always had a nagging fear of a plane going down nearby.
“I always worry about that,” he said.
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[...] Palo Alto Plane Crash » palo alto power outage, east palo alto … (buildingnemn.com) – February 17, 2010A small plane crashed this morning in a housing neighborhood in East Palo Alto, killing three people onboard, authorities said. The plane crashed on the 1200. [...]