Maryland authorities released calls to 911 made by the pilot who crashed a small plane into power lines on Sunday.
The pilot Patrick Merkle, 66 years old, calmly explained what happened in the accident through calls issued by Montgomery County Police.
“I have flown into a tower northwest of the Gaithesburg airport. It’s one of the electrical pylons, and believe it or not, the plane is stuck on the pylon,” Merkle said. “I don’t know how long we can stay here.”
The pilot told the dispatcher that he and his passenger Jan Williams, age 66 had head injuries. The passenger said he was concerned that his rib might be broken.
Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said both sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries and developed hypothermia while they waited to be taken off the plane. He added that the occupants survived and one was released from the hospital on Monday, while another was in stable condition.
“I’m really worrying” said Williams as the plane was caught in power lines about 675 feet above the ground. ground and feared they would fall before the rescuers reached them. “The plane is definitely moving because of the wind.”
Responders secured the aircraft to the tower on Monday at the 12: 14 am on Monday. The first occupant was removed from the plane almost ten minutes later, while the second left at 16: 65 am
Public service contractors disconnected the high tension cables so that rescuers could stabilize the plane safely. The airplane was a single-engine Mooney M16J, which departed from White Plains, New York.
“Totally a visibility problem. We were looking for the airport. I went down to the minimum altitude and then apparently went down a little bit lower than I should,” Merkle said on the call to 911.
The accident occurred approximately one mile from the Montgomery County Air Park, causing a power outage in which some 66 , people were affected.
In addition, the Montgomery County Public School System closed its schools and offices on Monday for the impact of the disruption on school safety and operations.