Three people are confirmed to be dead after a small, private jet crashed into a house in Maryland's Montgomery County on Monday, a fire official said, adding that several homes in the Gaithersburg, a Washington D.C. neighborhood have also been left damaged, the Associated Press reported.
All three victims were on board, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said. It could not immediately be confirmed whether there was anyone in the Gaithersburg house at the time of the crash or how many people inside were injured or killed.
Around 11 a.m. Monday, the crash occurred in the cul-de-sac of a residential rural neighborhood less than a mile from a Montgomery County Airpark, Piringer said. The jet plowed into one home, sparking a fire at two other homes, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue officials stated, adding that the fire is currently under control.
However, search and rescue crews continue to search for any other victims inside the homes, according to New York Daily News.
Preliminary information indicates that the Embraer EMB-500/Phenom 100 twin-engine jet was on approach at the nearby Montgomery County Airpark, an FAA spokesman said. The jet may have been a 10-seater Phenom jet, however there's no confirmation on how many people were inside.
According to eyewitnesses, the plane was making strange sounds and appeared to struggle to maintain altitude before going into a nosedive. Another eyewitness told WNEW's Jim McKay that the plane barrel rolled as it crashed into the home.
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board is sending an investigator to the scene, CBS Baltimore reported.
The story is still developing.
