Plane Crash and Fire Near River's Edge RV Park Posted: Aug 30, 2016 9:27 PM EST Updated: Aug 31, 2016 3:58 AM EST
A small plane crashed and erupted into flames at the River's Edge RV Park in Sparks Tuesday night. It happened around 6:00 p.m. near Rock Park.
The FAA reports the single-engine Beechcraft A36 was inbound to Reno when it crashed under unknown circumstances.
Authorities say there are no injuries that have been reported and everyone has been accounted for on the ground. The occupants of the aircraft are still unknown. They say there was a popping of propane in the RV park and at this time, all of River's Edge RV Park has been evacuated.
The condition of the pilot or anyone else who may have been on board is unclear, but there were no injuries on the ground.
Residents have been able to return to their homes and emergency crews have left for the night as investigators remain on scene investigating the crash.
Greta Woyciehowsky, with the Sparks Police Department said, "The plane nose-dived into the asphalt just next to the vehicles and the trailer. It didn't strike it."
A single-engine Beechcraft instantly broke out into flames when it crashed.
Bob Smith, a resident said, "There was an engine that sounded like it was having a real struggle. And then there was this huge boom."
Dennis Jordan, who also lives at the River's Edge RV Park adds, "I thought that I heard the airplane and everything just happened so fast. There was fire going up the street and down the street and a lot of smoke."
Residents quickly evacuated the area after shrapnel damaged several trailers and cars. The fire also started to spread in the RV park.
In the chaotic moment, one witness described a dangerous scene. Jeremy Twitt said, "There was a lot of pandemonium. Craziest thing was watching the people run back in to get their stuff into the flaming fifth wheels."
Emergency responders were doing their best to get bystanders out of and away from the propane tanks possibly exploding. Police say ultimately everyone on the ground walked away safely.
"A lot of them here are long-term residents. Some of them for many many years. These are their homes to them," said Woyciehowsky.
Jordan adds, "Everybody in the trailers got out. I've seen all my neighbors, so I'm happy about that."
Sanford Friedlander witnessed the whole ordeal from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, where officials say the plane was inbound to land.
"It looked like it was flying normally for a moment, then it sort of just flipped vertically and went straight into the ground. Then a big fireball. And a big cloud of black smoke," said Friedlander.
Authorities still haven't released the condition or identity of the pilot or anyone else who may have been on board.
"Until those families are notified, I don't think we're going to be releasing any more information and we hope it's soon. We're in contact with the coroners office and they usually handle that," said Woyciehowsky.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be talking over the investigation to find out more about this plane crash.
Resident of Rivers Edge are being let back into their homes as of 10 p.m. Tuesday night.
We'll update you as we learn more information.
Date:
30-AUG-2016
Time: 18:15
Type:
Beech A36 Bonanza
Owner/operator: Venture Aviation Services LLC
Registration: N985CA
C/n / msn: E-1901
Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Washoe County, Sparks, NV -
United States of America Phase: Approach
Nature: Unknown
Departure airport:
Destination airport: Reno/Tahoe Int'l (KRNO)
Narrative:
The aircraft impacted a recreational vehicle park in Sparks while on approach to Runways 16 at Reno/Tahoe International Airport (KRNO), Reno, Nevada. The airplane was destroyed by the impact sequence and subsequent fire. The pilot and passenger onboard the aircraft received fatal injuries. There were no reported ground injuries.
Sources:
http://www.ktvn.com/story/32926291/fire-at-rivers-edge-rv-park
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2016/08/30/small-airplane-crash-causes-fire-sparks-rv-park/89615342/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
http://www.kolotv.com/content/news/Witnesses-report-plane-crash-near-Rock-Park-391817461.html
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5212743,-119.7656168,18z/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-us
http://www.asias.faa.gov/pls/apex/f?p=100:95:0::NO::P95_EVENT_LCL_DATE,P95_LOC_CITY_NAME,P95_REGIST_NBR:31-AUG-16,RENO,N985CA
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?nNumberTxt=985CA
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2016/08/31/pilot-and-passenger-died-sparks-plane-crash/89655416/