Wed, Feb 17, 2010
Aircraft Wing Impacted A Home Day Care Center, All On The
Ground Are Fine
ANN Realtime Update 2.17.2010 1936 EST: The
three people aboard the Cessna 310 which crashed in Palo Alto
Wednesday morning were employees of Tesla Motors, the makers
of a high-end electric roadster. The Tesla website confirms that
they lost three of their employees in the crash, but their names
were being withheld pending notification of relatives. The crash
reportedly sparked two fires in the residential neighborhood where
the plane went down, according to multiple media sources.
Original Story: A Cessna 310 departing from
Palo Alto Airport (KPAO) in the San Francisco Bay Area struck a
high-tension transmission pole shortly after takeoff Wednesday
morning, crashing into a residential neighborhood. No one on the
ground was injured, but all three people on board the plane were
killed.
File Photo
The weather was reported as "pea soupy" by local authorities,
and all three Bay area airports reported being below IFR
minimums.
Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold
Schapelhouman said it appeared the plane hit the transmission
tower, shearing off a wing which landed on top of the home day care
center. The rest of the aircraft hit about in the middle of a
residential street, skidding down the road and causing several
cars, lawns, and at least one home to catch fire. "The plane landed
in the center of the street," Schapelhouman said. "If not, many
more individuals would have been impacted, perhaps killed."
Mineta San Jose International Airport spokesman David Vossbrink
told the San Jose Mercury News 16 Southwest flights were cancelled
Wednesday morning due to the fog. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said
that the plane was en route to Hawthorne Municipal Airport (KHHR)
in Southern CA.
The accident, which according to Palo Alto police occurred at
about 0755, caused a widespread power outage in the region.
Stanford University hospital was operating on emergency generators,
and some businesses closed for the day due to the lack of
electricity.
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