COLONIA, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – A small plane crashed into a home in Colonia, New Jersey, Tuesday morning.
A small plane crashed into a home in Colonia, N.J. (credit: Facebook/Michael Yonone)
The FAA said the Cessna 414A crashed into the home at 84 Berkley Avenue at around 11 a.m.
The home that was hit by the plane and two other homes nearby caught fire following the crash.
Up to 200 firefighters from nine different firehouse battled the fires.
“This is all hands on deck,” said John McCormac, mayor of Woodbridge Township.
Only the pilot was on board, officials said, and no-one on the ground was injured. The condition of the pilot wasn’t immediately known.
The fires were brought under control by around 12:30 p.m.
The plane was lodged in the back of the house it hit, McCormac said.
“There was nobody home at the time, which was very fortunate. There was a car in the driveway, so everybody thought somebody was home, but nobody was home, they confirmed with the owner,” said McCormac. “Right now, we don’t believe any civilians on the ground were impacted by the crash.”
Watch: Woodbridge Township Mayor On Small Plane Crash
The plane was headed to Linden Airport, McCormac said.
“I heard a plane really, really low. Linden Airport isn’t that far away so I knew that it was abnormally low. The sounds were really loud, and it seemed like, near the end, before there was a really loud bang, it kind of sputtered out a little bit. And then I just hear this loud bang and it shook the whole house,” said neighbor Steven Smith. “We checked on the two houses next door and made sure there was no one there because the fire was 30 to 40 feet high or something.”
PSEG turned off gas to customers around the site of the crash and power to 400 customers in the area as a safety precaution, McCormac said.
“Just about every available person in town is out here at the scene to fight the fire,” McCormac said. “The important thing is that no civilians on the ground were impacted or hurt, which is just terrific news.”
Watch: CBS2’s Dan Rice On Weather Conditions During Crash
CBS2’s Dan Rice said that poor visibility and a low ceiling may have played a role in the crash. Rice said that weather conditions would’ve meant the pilot wouldn’t have been able to see the airport and would have to rely on instruments on approach.
NTSB investigating this morning's crash of a Cessna 414 into a residential area in Woodbridge, NJ.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) October 29, 2019
The FAA and NTSB officials are on their way to the scene to investigate.