Fire Rages as Plane Crashes Into New Hampshire Building


A small plane crashed into a building in a small town in New Hampshire, causing the structure to catch fire and sending emergency crews scrambling to contain the blaze.

A fire district in southwestern New Hampshire said in a Facebook post Friday night that there was now a three-alarm fire at the building in Keene that was struck by the plane. Details are still emerging, as local police urge the public to avoid the area as first-responders arrive on the scene.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Newsweek in an email that a single-engine Beechcraft Sierra crashed into a building north of Dillant-Hopkins Airport in Keene at around 6:55 p.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation, according to the FAA. Investigators will verify the aircraft’s registration number at the scene, which the FAA said it expects to post online by the next business day. Neither agency will release the names of people involved in aircraft accidents, the FAA said.

The burning building is on Lower Main Street near the Hope Chapel, about 3,000 feet from the northern end of the runway at Dillant-Hopkins, reports WCVB. The station later posted a video online of the building continuing to smolder as firefighters appeared to have the blaze contained.

At the moment, no injuries have been reported, according to Boston Fox affiliate WFXT.

Fire Engine Responding
A fire engine responds to an emergency. Authorities in Keene, New Hampshire, have dispatched emergency crews to a building that caught fire after a plane crashed into it Friday night.
MattGush/Getty Images

Twitter user Mike Saccone posted a video of the fire to Twitter. He wrote in his tweet that residents said the structure is a barn attached to an apartment building.

WKBK Radio Keene posted a photo of the flames rising from the building and smoke billowing into the night air to Twitter.

About 20 to 30 firefighters were at the scene as crews went about extinguishing a collapsed building adjacent to the chapel, which appeared undamaged, reports The Keene Sentinel. Police blocked off a segment of Main Street between Route 101 and Swanzey Factory Road, the paper reports.

“I was sitting in my living room, as I am right close to the airport. I heard the plane and then I heard a crash, then sirens. I went into my kitchen to get stuff ready for work and saw the flames from my back window,” witness Angel Brown told WMUR.

The American Red Cross of Northern New England told WMUR that they are on the scene offering assistance.

“Our Disaster Action Team is mobilizing, and we are waiting to hear more what specifically the community needs from us,” the relief group told the station.

The Southwestern New Hampshire District Fire Mutual Aid dispatch and the Keene Police Department told Newsweek that additional information would be released later.

Update 10/21/22, 9:10 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.





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