Small plane crashes into Chicago home; 1 killed

ByJessica D'Onofrio and Jessica D'Onofrio WLS logo
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Chicago plane crashes into home near Midway
A small plane crashed into a home on Chicago's Southwest Side near Midway International Airport Tuesday morning.

CHICAGO -- A small plane crashed into a home on Chicago's Southwest Side near Midway International Airport Tuesday morning, killing the pilot.



Federal Aviation Administration officials said the Aero Commander 500 cargo plane took off from Midway headed for Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, but amended his flight plan before takeoff to go to Ohio State University Airport in Columbus.



Shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed about a quarter-mile from its runway while trying to return to the airport. Aviation officials said the pilot reported engine trouble and had asked to return to Midway. He was found dead in the wreckage.



The single-engine plane crashed into a two-story bungalow in the 6500 block of South Knox Avenue around 2:45 a.m., according to Chicago Police Department spokesman Ron Gaines. The plane crashed through the front of the building, through the living and dining rooms and into the basement, fire officials said. The plane was wedged between two houses, with the nose down into one house and the tail up, with the body resting on the roof of the home next door.



An elderly man and woman were inside the home at the time of the crash, but they were not injured and got out safely, thanks to a neighbor.



PHOTOS: Small plane crashes into SW Side home after Midway takeoff




The Chicago Water Reclamation District was looking into a possible jet fuel spill because there is concern about fuel in the water system.



FAA and National Transportation Safety Board officials are investigating the crash.



Luz Cazares, 62, lives next door and said when she initially heard the crash and then saw the plane in the home, she thought the people inside--who she's known for 22 years--were dead.



Cazares and her husband ran outside and saw the couple waving for help through the window of their house. The man and woman, who are 82 and 84 years old, were standing in the hallway outside their bedroom, which is right by the living room where the plane had crashed, she said.



"I walked to the back of the yard, I jumped the fence. I opened the back door of the kitchen and I took (the woman) outside," Cazares said.



She said police got the man out.



Cazares said she and her husband check up on the elderly couple from time to time. Cazares' home was one of the residences evacuated.



The Associated Press and Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.

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