- A pilot, who has not yet been identified, was killed in a fatal plane crash on Tuesday
- The single-engine Mooney M20 near a shopping center in Plano, Texas
- The crash site is less than half a mile from the Air Park-Dallas Airport
A pilot has died after a single-engine plane crashed and caught fire near a restaurant and nail salon in Texas.
The horrific moment was captured on video showing the plane on fire near a Plano shopping center.
The FAA said the Mooney M20 crashed next to Mama’s Daughter’s Diner and Nail Addiction on Tuesday around 6 p.m.
Authorities confirmed that the pilot, who died in the fiery crash, was the only person aboard the plane. The victim has not been named.
“Fortunately the plane did not land or collide with anything,” said Plano Fire-Rescue Public Information Officer Daniel Daly.
A pilot was killed after a single-engine plane crashed near a Texas restaurant and nail salon and burst into flames
The horrific moment was captured on video showing the plane bursting into flames near a shopping center parking lot near West Park Boulevard and Midway Road in Plano, Texas.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the single-engine Mooney M20 crashed next to Mama’s Daughter’s Diner and Nail Addiction on Tuesday around 6 p.m.
Emergency crews rushed to the crash site, less than a half mile from Air Park-Dallas Airport.
The fatal plane crash also set an empty van nearby on fire, but none of the nearby businesses suffered any damage.
“We don’t know where the plane went, if they went to this airstrip that’s very close or to Addison,” Daly said.
‘We don’t really have that information at the moment. Again, any flight plans or information will be FAA or NTSB.”
Plano Fire-Rescue would not speculate on the plane’s flight path, and it is unclear whether the pilot was flying in or out of Air Park-Dallas Airport.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators will arrive on the scene Wednesday morning and discuss the situation with the FAA, authorities said.
In the meantime, the plane will remain on site until federal investigators decide to move it to a secure location for further evaluation.
Emergency crews rushed to the crash site, less than a half mile from Air Park-Dallas Airport
The fatal plane crash also set fire to an empty van nearby, but none of the nearby businesses sustained any damage
Most shops in the area were still open when the plane crashed, as witnesses reported hearing a loud bang and seeing large smoke after the deadly incident.
“When I came out, there was a lot of smoke and later I heard another noise,” Kiu Nguyen said CBS. ‘It was so scary. Everyone came and saw a lot of smoke.”
‘It was the blackest smoke I’ve ever seen. It looked really scary from the other side,” said Liz Blice, another nearby witness. “I couldn’t see anyone hurt.”
Kevin Holigan was about to enter Mama’s Daughter’s Diner when the accident occurred.
“The flames were so high I couldn’t even get out,” he said. “All I could see was the original fire and the car next to it that was on fire.”
Austin Selkin told it FOX4: ‘There were just flames everywhere, it was really bad.’ A video of him shows crews putting out a fire in the nearby van.