Mesa, Arizona, plane crash: 5 dead as small plane crashes through airport fence and hits car

CNN
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Five people died when a small plane crashed through a fence at an Arizona airport Tuesday afternoon and hit a car as it aborted takeoff, officials said.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the Honda HA-420 jet crashed at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa – a city about 25 miles east of Phoenix – around 4:40 p.m.

“Preliminary information indicates that the aircraft struck the airport fence and a passenger vehicle during an aborted takeoff,” the NTSB said in an emailed statement to CNN on Wednesday morning.

Five people were killed in the crash, according to Marrisa Ramirez-Ramos, a spokeswoman for the Mesa Fire and Medical Department, who declined to comment further on the deaths.

“Five people were on board the aircraft,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CNN. “The plane crashed into a vehicle outside the airport premises.”

The fire department, FAA and NTSB did not say whether anyone outside the plane was injured or whether anyone was inside the vehicle when it was hit.

The plane crashed through a metal fence and “some concrete walls,” a witness, Joshua Golabi, told CNN affiliate KPNX.

Golabi, himself a pilot, said he did not see the impact of the crash but heard it.

“We were just about to get on our plane and take off when we heard a bang and saw a cloud of smoke,” Golabi said.

KPNX reported that the plane was consumed by flames at one point.

“It’s just very concerning and reminds all pilots to always fly and maneuver as safely as possible,” Golabi said.

Officials have not identified the victims. The NTSB is leading the investigation into the crash, a spokesman said.

CNN’s Sara Finch contributed to this report.