- A plane crashed on I-26 in Ashville, North Carolina on Thursday night
- The two passengers on board were taken to hospital
- It is unclear what caused the crash and when the flames started
A plane made an emergency landing on a North Carolina highway and burst into flames, sending two passengers to the hospital.
The single-engine Diamond DA-40 plane struck Interstate 26 in Ashville on Thursday around 8:15 p.m.
The two people on board were taken to a local hospital, the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office said. Their names have not been released.
An airport spokesman said the plane reported problems and requested assistance just before it crashed.
A plane made an emergency landing and caught fire on I-26 in Ashville, North Carolina on Thursday evening
Cars on the highway at the time watched the plane burst into flames
It is unclear why the plane made an emergency landing and when exactly the fire started. The emergency landing brought traffic to a standstill on the highway for hours.
Officials said Ashville Regional Airport deployed fire trucks to the scene while Skyland Fire and Rescue, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Ashville Police Department and Buncombe County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene.
The westbound lanes of I-26 were closed indefinitely and a detour was put in place for motorists. Officials with the N.C. Department of Transportation predict the road will reopen around 7 a.m. Friday.
In videos you see many drivers slowly rolling along the highway while the plane parked there goes up in flames.
The plane was completely charred when the fire was extinguished and reporters on the scene said the plane looked “unrecognizable.” They added a wing that had also been thrown off the plane.
Buildings and homes in the area were experiencing power surges and outages at the time of the terrifying crash.
Allen Morgan, a Buncombe County EMD supervisor, told Citizen Times, “There do not appear to be any life-threatening injuries.”
A driver caught the plane covered in orange flames as it passed on the other side of the divider
'We might spend the night here in this busy traffic jam. Officials are trying to reverse the entire lane,” one person said on Facebook as they sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic around 11:10 p.m.
Another person posted on Facebook saying, “Definitely stay away from that area… Prayers for everyone involved…”
According to The aviation consumer, a Diamond DA-40 aircraft “is one of the most sought-after used piston singles available.”
The condition of the two people who were taken to hospital is not known at this time.