Small Plane Crashes into Transmission Lines Leaving 120,000 without Power
According to an 11/28/2022 CNN report, close to 120,000 Maryland residents were without power on Sunday after a small plane crashed into a transmission tower in Montgomery County. The accident site was approximately 20 miles from both Washington Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington International Airport. The power outages precipitated school closures and forced some hospitals to function at limited capacity. Poor visibility may have been a contributing factor due to foggy conditions.
Photo: Pete Piringer / Montgomery County Fire and Rescue
The two people onboard the aircraft were rescued, but sustained serious injuries. This crash underscores the highly accident-prone nature of general aviation aircraft as well as the serious impacts on the greater population.
Small planes crash in the U.S. on a near daily basis. According to the Bureau of Transportation General Aviation Safety Statistics, the accident rate from 2010 through 2019 exceeded 1200 every year. In 2019 alone there were 412 fatalities and over 200 serious injuries.
Though there were no indications that this was a terrorist act, this accident exposes the vulnerability of the power grid should a pilot with hostile intent choose to commandeer a small aircraft to launch an attack. It is important to note that there is little if any TSA presence at the nation's more than 15,000 general aviation airports. Unlike commercial airline passengers, those who fly out of general aviation airports are not required to undergo security checks before boarding.
Opening Paragraphs of CNN Article Referenced Above
A pilot and passenger who were stuck in a small plane for nearly seven hours after it crashed Sunday into power lines in Montgomery County, Maryland, have been rescued, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Chief Scott Goldstein said early Monday morning. Both were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, including orthopedic and trauma injuries from the crash and hypothermia, Goldstein said. The rescue began at 5:30 p.m. when crews responded to reports of a small airplane that had flown into the power lines, according to Pete Piringer, chief spokesperson for Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue Service.
When units arrived on the scene, they found a small plane suspended about 100 feet in the air that had struck the tower.
The pilot was identified by Maryland State Police as Patrick Merkle, 65 of Washington, DC. The passenger is Jan Williams, 66 of Louisiana, the state police said in a news release.
Other articles on this accident are available at the links below.
- Federal Probe Underway in Crash of Plane that Hit Maryland Power Lines. Washington Post article by Luz Lazo, Lori Aratani and Ian Duncan.
- Two People are Rescued from a Plane that Crashed into a Maryland Transmission Tower. NPR article by Giulia Hayward and Ayana Archie.
- Pilot, passenger rescued from plane that crashed into power lines in Montgomery Co. WTOP News report by Joshua Barlow.
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