Beech 58 Narrowly Misses Homes, Causes Evacuations

Three people, including a Fort Collins (CO) community leader, were killed Saturday when their Beech 58 went down in a residential neighborhood.

Bill Neal, Scott Nelson and Leo Schuster were killed in the accident, as their twin-engine aircraft narrowly missed several homes.

"It fell straight out of the sky. It hit the ground and there were parts and gas everywhere," said Jim Noren, who lives close to the crash site.

"We ran to the plane and saw (at least) two men inside. We saw the gas. ... It was spreading under the van (in front of his house). Then the flames started." Noren was quoted in the Daily Coloradoan.

It wasn't immediately clear which of the three victims was flying the aircraft. The pilot, however, did tell controllers he was having engine problems just before the accident -- a fact borne out by witnesses on the ground.

"Something didn't seem quite right when we heard it," Rick Woodruff, who was eating lunch in his house when he heard the plane fly overhead. "We ran out of the house and heard it hit."

His wife, Terri, told the Coloradoan, "We were just standing there in disbelief. Then you realize how lucky we were for it not to hit the houses."

No one on the ground was injured, although several homes were evacuated because of the fuel spilled when the aircraft impacted the ground.

NTSB investigators were on the scene almost immediately. They removed the wreckage from the crash site. What's left of the Baron will be taken to Greeley (CO) for analysis.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov