Plane Crashes Into North Carolina Home, Killing 2

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HOPE MILLS—Authorities in North Carolina say a small plane crashed into a home, killing two people and injuring another.

A release from the State Highway Patrol says the single-engine civilian plane went down shortly before midnight on Thursday in Hope Mills.

The pilot and an occupant of the home died at the scene, while another occupant of the residence was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Aerial images from news helicopters show a home surrounded by yellow police tape with nearly half its roof smashed in and debris scattered around the residential lot.

Eyewitnesses told WTVD-TV they heard the plane’s engine making sputtering noises. Jennifer Kelton’s family was having dinner when they heard the plane pass, followed by an explosion.

“It was a double-wide modular home, and it (the plane) came in and it took the whole back of the house out,” eyewitness Kenny Oxendine told WTVD-TV.

“I never heard anything that loud,” Jennifer told the station. “It really did buzz over the roof.”

The home is in the vicinity of U.S. Highway 301, less than 5 miles southwest of the Fayetteville Regional Airport. Nearby are several businesses along with homes on other residential streets.

No identities have been released and the cause of the crash is under investigation.

Troopers and Cumberland County deputies were awaiting federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration as of early Friday.

NTD News staff contributed to this article.