Single-engine plane crashes near MD playground, killing three

Listen to this article

A single-engine plane crashed near a residential area in Maryland late Saturday, killing all three on board, according to Maryland State Police.

At about 11:30 p.m., a single-engine Piper Cherokee with a pilot and two passengers on board crashed in a wooded area of Bowie just steps away from a playground, behind a townhouse complex, according to the state police.

“It absolutely could have been much worse. It’s already a tragedy that we’ve lost three lives, but the fact that they narrowly missed a residential area in Bowie – we’re very fortunate,” state police spokeswoman Elena Russo told The Washington Post on Sunday.

Investigators say they believe the aircraft belongs to a flight school in Montgomery County, police said. The aircraft might have been participating in a training flight, according to police.

The aircraft was en route from Ocean City, New Jersey, to the Montgomery County Airpark, according to police. The cause of the crash is currently unknown, and no other injuries were reported, police said. Police said all three victims, whom authorities haven’t publicly identified, were men.

About 15 minutes after the crash, Prince George’s County Public Safety Communications received an iPhone crash alert indicating a crash near Routes 50 and 301, according to police. Multiple first responders, including state police and the Prince George’s County Fire Department, conducted a ground and aerial search for the aircraft, police said.

The aircraft was found around 3:45 a.m. Sunday, police said.

The plane is based at the airpark,, according to Keith Miller, CEO of the Montgomery County Revenue Authority, which owns and operates the facility. The plane departed the airpark Saturday afternoon and was returning at the time of the crash, Miller said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are out to the families involved in this tragic accident,” Miller told The Post on Sunday.

The crash follows a recent spate of aviation crashes around the country.

On June 13, a Marine Corps fighter jet crashed in Washington state. The pilot parachuted to safety. On June 14, in Missouri, a skydiving plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 12 on board, including the pilot.

On June 15, a B-52 bomber crashed at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, killing all eight on board. On June 16, a private jet carrying six people crashed on a highway in Texas, killing one person.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the Bowie crash, with the NTSB is in charge of the investigation, according to an FAA spokesperson.

An NTSB investigator is expected to arrive at the scene of the crash Sunday evening, according to NTSB spokesperson Keith Holloway.

“Once on scene, the investigator will begin documenting the site and examining the aircraft. They will request air traffic communications, radar data, and weather reports, and attempt to contact any witnesses,” Holloway said in a statement. “Additionally, the investigator will obtain the aircraft’s maintenance records, as well as the pilot’s medical records and flight history.”

Liam Scott is a reporter on the Metro desk covering transportation and breaking news.