Small plane crashes in residential neighborhood in New Jersey.
Small plane crashes in residential neighborhood in New Jersey.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
By JUSTO BAUTISTA and JAN BARRY
STAFF WRITERS
www.northnewjersey.com
A small plane crashed and exploded in a ball of flames in a residential neighborhood behind the Wayne municipal complex Monday night, killing one person aboard the plane and sending frantic residents scurrying into the streets.
"Unbelievable!" Patricia Aurelio of Nellis Drive exclaimed as she watched emergency workers extinguishing the flames. "I looked out the window and saw huge flames."
The crash was reported at 7:48 p.m. Investigators confirmed one fatality just before 9:30 p.m., but did not immediately identify the victim. The area was blanketed by dense fog at the time of the crash.
Wayne police and Passaic County sheriff's officers were searching the neighborhood of two-story colonialhouses to "see if anybody was ejected from the plane," said Bill Maer, a sheriff's spokesman.
The plane, a single-engine Beechcraft BE-36, was registered to the Berg-A-King Flying Corp., based in Wilmington, Del., according to Arlene Murray, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Initial reports indicated the plane was en route to Essex County Airport in Fairfield from Charlotte, N.C., Maer said.
Deputy Police Chief John Reardon of Wayne said it appeared the plane had struck some nearby trees, flipping over and striking the middle of Nellis Drive. The plane crashed upside down in front of Aurelio's home and ended up in a neighbor's driveway, she said. The neighbor was not home, she said.
The fuselage was badly burned, with only its white-and-gold tail remaining intact. The crash did not appear to have damaged any houses or parked cars.
Aurelio's daughter, Lisa, called 911 to report the crash, as did many of the family's neigh- bors.
Nellis Drive, which runs between Valley and Alps roads, is up a hill from the municipal complex and near Wayne Valley High School.
Aurelio family members were having dinner when they heard an explosion, and thought there had been a car accident.
James Aurelio, Patricia's husband, ran outside to try and help.
"I ran into the street to see if anybody was thrown from the plane," he said. "I saw a ball of flames, and the entire cockpit was on fire -- you could feel the heat."
Aurelio said no houses in the neighborhood were damaged.
Mitch Margolies of Nellis Drive said he was upstairs in his house when he "heard a boom."
"It sounded like two trucks collided," Margolies said. He looked outside to see a "fireball."
"We were worried it was going to explode again," he said.
Tom Ward, 65, who lives down the street from the crash site, said he was watching television when he heard a loud noise -- "like a dump truck," he said.
Staff Writer William Lamb contributed to this article.
Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
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