Thanks to a rescue team, two people are lucky to be alive after their single-engine plane flew into a power line and utility tower in Maryland on Sunday, November 27, 2022.
Patrick Merkle, 65, a pilot from Washington, DC, and Janet Williams, 66, a passenger from Marrero, Louisiana, flew in a Mooney Mike 20P, a single-engine plane when they got into the accident on Sunday evening.
A Maryland State Police news release indicated the plane crashed into the Montgomery County power line a little before 6 pm. Officers from the Rockville Barrack responded to a call about a plane crash, and they found the plane had crashed into the 100-foot power lines and gotten stuck between them, leaving it suspended in the air.
The rescue operations took several hours, and EMS officers used crane trucks. They finally rescued the pilot and the passenger at around 1 am on Monday and took the two people to a local hospital for a medical checkup.
According to Scott Goldstein, the Montgomery Fire and Rescue Chief, they were also treated for bone and trauma injuries from the plane crash and the hypothermia that resulted from them being there for so long in the cold.
Police closed off the plane crash site around Rothbury Drive and Goshen Road.
The FAA and the Transportation Safety Board started investigating the cause of the crash and local law enforcement is helping with the investigation.
Fire and Rescue Services Chief Goldstein told reporters that Montgomery County Fire and Rescue officers were in contact with the two trapped people throughout the rescue.
The grounding involved the fire crews placing clamps or cables on the wires to avoid getting shocked by static electricity or residual power. In addition to the grounding exercise, the rescuers had to deal with foggy weather conditions, which considerably reduced visibility and slowed the operation.
Crews finished grounding the power lines at around 11:30 pm, and then they secured the plane.
Rescue crews used a mechanical lift to rescue the first person at around 12:20 am and then the other passenger about ten minutes later.
Peter Piringer, Montgomery Fire and Rescue spokesperson, said the crews removed the plane around 4 am.
The crash resulted in a power outage on Sunday, with around 120,000 residents going without power for several hours before the Pepco Utility Company restored it on Monday. The utility company provides electrical services to over 800,000 homes and establishments in Washington, DC.
Schools around Montgomery County remained closed on Monday because of the power outage, which affected over 40 public schools in the county and six central offices.
Two hospitals in the county, Holy Cross Hospital, and MedStar Montgomery Hospital, were also affected and operated at limited capacity on Sunday evening.
One of the residents, William Smouse, whose house is barely a mile from where the crash occurred, said that he and his son were on their way to dinner on Sunday evening when he saw big flashes and fire engines driving past him.
