Photo: Metro Nashville Police Department
Five people were killed after a single-engine plane crashed beside Interstate 40 in Nashville Monday (March 4) night, the Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed via CNN.
The plane was attempting to make an approved emergency landing at John C. Tune Airport after reporting engine and power failure to air traffic control at around 7:40 p.m. local time, but the pilot said shortly after that the aircraft wouldn't make it to the tarmac, Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Aaron said. The plane exploded into flames upon impact, which Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Kendra Loney described as "catastrophic and did not leave any survivors."
Police haven't publicly identified the victims killed and are still working to determine where the plane departed from prior to the crash. Witnesses at the scene said the aircraft appeared to be "obviously in distress as it was coming over the intestate" before crashing down into a grassy area located behind a Costco store just off I-40 East, Aaron confirmed.
“We are fortunate the aircraft did not hit any buildings as it went down,” he added via CNN.
Aaron confirmed that the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration would investigate the cause of the fatal plane crash. I-40 East was closed at mile marker 202 after the crash, Tennessee Department of Transportation Region 3 spokeswoman Rebekah Hammonds confirmed in a post shared on her X account Monday night.
Photos and videos shared by witnesses and TDOT cameras showed the aircraft engulfed in flames and mangled after crashing.
“If you’re traveling tonight find an alternate route,” Hammonds said at the time.