GROTON, Conn. (AP) - A small plane crashed into a Connecticut home while en route to a local airport Monday night, but the pilot, a passenger and a man in the house escaped serious injury, state and local officials said.
The Piper PA-34 twin-engine plane smashed into the roof of the house in Groton at about 10:30 p.m., about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from Groton-New London Airport, police said.
The two people on the plane were able to get out of the wreckage on their own and were taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, police said. Their names and conditions have not been released, but officials said their injuries were not life-threatening.
Kenneth Johnson, 73, was sleeping in his bedroom when the plane crashed into his house. He told The Day newspaper that he heard a loud noise, opened his bedroom door and saw the ceiling had collapsed. He wasn’t sure at first what had happened, and he was overcome by the odor of the airplane fuel.
“I’m just lucky to be alive,” he said Tuesday while looking at the damage.
The crash did not cause a fire, but neighboring homes were evacuated as a precaution, police said.
The plane was approaching the airport when it crashed, according to the Connecticut Airport Authority, which oversees operations at the airport and is helping to investigate the accident. Officials did not say where the aircraft was coming from.
The crash destroyed part of the single-story home’s roof, where the plane remained Tuesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. The NTSB said it was not sending investigators to the scene, and the wreckage will be brought to another location for a review.
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