McKinney

Small plane crashes into car during emergency landing in McKinney, 1 injured

NBC Universal, Inc.

A small airplane crashed into a fence and hit a car at Aero Country Airport when it tried to make an emergency landing on Saturday afternoon.

The McKinney Fire Department said the crash happened around 12:30 p.m. in the 250 block of Aero Country Road in McKinney.

According to McKinney Fire and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a pilot flying a single-engine Lancair IV-P was unable to stop at the end of the runway. As a result, the plane crashed through a fence and onto Eastbound Virginia Parkway, colliding with a car passing by.

McKinney Fire said paramedics evaluated three patients at the scene; two were on the plane and one was in the car.

Fire officials said one person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, but couldn't confirm if that person was on the plane or in the car.

Jack Schneider was at the airport picking up a jet from someone else that he plans to fix up.

"And I was on the other side of the jet, closest to the runway, and all of a sudden, I hear that an airplane is landing. And I looked over and saw a bunch of smoke coming off the tires. And I could tell that he was going way too fast to stop by the end of the runway," said Schneider, an aerospace engineer and pilot, himself.

That's when he decided to whip out his phone-- catching crucial moments.

“He went through the fence and then went onto the road, and then crossed one lane of traffic and then into the other lane of traffic right as another car hit it," Schneider said.

Carlos Wiggins was driving on the same road at the time.

"Everybody stopped. Everybody. All the cars stopped-- like 15 feet, stopped," he said. “Mind went blank. I think everybody mind went blank.”

Wiggins said he was relieved when he saw that everyone involved was okay.

“I actually saw the pilot kicking around out of frustration," he said.

Schneider called 911 and ran to the scene with his friend, a firefighter, to help until first responders got there.

He said he also shared his footage with the FAA.

None of it was part of the itinerary for Schneider, who had driven down from Kansas.

“Glad everybody is okay and glad I got a video of it. Hopefully it will help out with the investigation," he said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the cause of the crash.

The road was closed for hours as crews investigated and cleaned up the scene into the evening.

Contact Us