Small plane crashes into power lines in Montgomery County causing widespread power outages
Officials are in contact with occupants of small plane dangling from power lines in Montgomery County
Officials say they are in contact with the occupants of a small plane that crashed into Pepco power lines Sunday evening and are stuck 100 feet off the air. 85,000 to 90,000 Pepco customers in the surrounding areas are without power.
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, Md. - There are widespread power outages reported across part of Montgomery County after a small plane crashed into power lines on Sunday evening.
The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. in the area of Rothbury Drive and Goshen Road in the Montgomery Village area of Gaithersburg.
According to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue officials, the plane is stuck in the power lines and dangling 100 feet in the area with two passengers inside. Officials say they have been in contact with the occupants of the plane via cell phone.
The plane is a single-engine Mooney M20J with the registration number N201RF, according to the FAA. The plane had departed from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y.
Fire and rescue crews are working to rescue the occupants of the plane. Officials say that the plane needs to be secured, and the tower needs to be grounded to protect against static electricity and residual power, before the occupants of the plane can be extricated.
As a result of the incident, Pepco reports that about 85,000 customers throughout the northern parts of Montgomery County are without power.
Montgomery County Police are asking people to avoid the area as rescue operations continue.