Plane crashes into building in Keene, NH; No survivors on board
KEENE, NH - A plane crashed into an apartment building in Keene, New Hampshire Friday night, causing a large fire and killing the two people on board the aircraft.
The FAA said a single-engine Beechcraft Sierra crashed into the building north of Dillant/Hopkins Airport around 6:55 p.m.
"There were no injuries at the multifamily building. Unfortunately those on the plane have perished," the City of Keene said in a statement on Facebook.
The plane struck the barn area of the building on Main Street near the Hope Chapel. Nobody on the ground was injured.
Flames tore through the two-story barn, rattling residents who felt the plane's impact in the apartments attached to it.
"It shook the whole house. It literally moved me. I'm a pretty big guy, so it took a lot of force," said Scott Gauthier.
All eight tenants in the apartments next door were able to escape, as firefighters were up in ladders attacking the fire from the outside.
The building's landlord, Wayne Brown, says he's grateful no one in the building was hurt.
"It looks like the tree in the back you can see where the limbs broke off," Brown said. "They must have been having problems because the runway is probably a half a mile behind from the house. They probably hit the limb and it turned the plane on a 90 and it just drove it right into the barn."
An NTSB investigator is expected to be on scene Saturday.
The plane is owned by Monadnock Aviation and took off from Keene Dillant-Hopkins Airport before the crash.
