A small plane carrying two people was dangling 100 feet above the ground Sunday night after colliding with a PEPCO high-voltage transmission tower outside Gaithersburg, Maryland, officials said. The plane in question is a single-engine Mooney Mike 20P. Power was cut to approximately 117,000 customers as rescuers raced to free the two people on board.
The cause of the crash was unknown, but Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue Service Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, who was on the scene, said the crash involving a passenger and a pilot occurred around 5.30 p.m., with units arriving on scene to find the aircraft suspended approximately 100 feet in the air.
According to Pete Piringer, the pilot, Patrick Merkle, 65, from Washington, and the passenger, Jan Williams, 66, from Louisiana, did not appear to be seriously injured and the authorities were in contact with the pilot and passenger.
Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein explained about the rescue operation wherein he said that the crew would go up to the powerlines to install clamps or cables, ensuring that there is no static electricity, no residual power, as well as the vibration of the airplane, and would secure it to the tower structure.
He added that the aircraft would most likely not be stable until it was “chained and strapped” in place and that it must be stable before rescuers attempt to extricate the people on board
The fire department advised the public to avoid the area due to the imminent danger involved.
Chief Scott Goldstein, said in a news conference on Sunday night that officials had advised the pilot and the passenger to conserve their phone batteries to communicate with rescuers.
To make matters worse, dense fog in the area was reducing visibility and making things “more wet and slippery,” according to Chief Goldstein.
According to the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), approximately 125 traffic signal lights were out of service as of 11:15 p.m., and drivers were advised to treat the non-functioning signals as an all-way stop.
In an update late Sunday night, emergency officials said the rescue operation was ongoing, and the tower had been de-energized. Bucket trucks had arrived on the scene by 10.00 PM, and the crew of over 100 fire and rescue personnel on the scene were preparing to start a risky operation that would take hours. The crews were working to ground the tower to ensure no energy, static or otherwise, was still running through the structure. Officials said the next task would be to secure the plane to the tower before crews remove the pilot and passenger.
Montgomery County Public Schools announced that due to the outage, all its schools and offices would be closed and all college campuses and locations would also be closed.