Two crew members died when a small plane crashed in New Jersey on Monday, setting multiple buildings on fire.
May 15 (UPI) — Two crew members died when a small plane crashed in New Jersey on Monday, setting multiple buildings on fire.
The Learjet 35 crashed around 3: 30 p.m. in an industrial area in Carlstadt, about a quarter-mile from Teterboro Airport, close to New York City, according to the Federal Aviation Administration .
The twin-engine plane was attempting to land at the airport en route from Philadelphia International Airport.
The jet crashed into two buildings and burst into flames, witnesses told WABC-TV .
Thick, black smoke was visible from New York City.
A person who worked in one of the buildings hit told WABC-TV the crash occurred about 30 minutes after one of the businesses closed. People in the second building all got out safely.
Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, posted an image an Instagram and wrote: “Was trying to land, but missed the turn. Crashed a few hundred yards from airport.”
He took the photo from the window of another plane.
One witness told WNBC-TV she works at United Door and saw the crash outside her office window.
“We were there working like every day and all of the suddenly we see the airplane coming down, ” she said. “It landed in the parking lot and then we heard the explosion.”
The Learjet occupants were the crew members. No one was hurt on the ground, Carlstadt police said.
The plane’s tail number is N452DA and it is registered to A&C Big Sky Aviation in Billings, Mont.
The Learjet 35, capable of carrying eight passengers and a crew of two, was manufactured from 1973-94, according to Globalair.com .
Designated as a “reliever” airport, Teterboro’s “focus is on removing the smaller and slower aircraft from the regional air traffic that would cause major congestion at the Port Authority’s commercial airports, ” according to the airport’s website .
The airport is run by the Port Authority of Nww York and New Jersey.
