Mesa, Arizona, plane crash: 5 dead as small plane crashes through airport fence and hits car

CNN
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Five people, including a child, died Tuesday afternoon when a small plane crashed through a fence and hit a car as it aborted takeoff at an Arizona airport, officials said.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the Honda HA-420 jet crashed at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, a city about 25 miles east of Phoenix, around 4:40 p.m.

“Preliminary information indicates that the aircraft struck the airport fence and a passenger vehicle during an aborted takeoff,” the NTSB said in an emailed statement to CNN on Wednesday morning.

Five people died in the crash, according to Marrisa Ramirez-Ramos, a spokeswoman for the Mesa Fire and Medical Department.

“Five people were on board the aircraft,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CNN. “The plane crashed into a vehicle outside the airport premises.”

According to Mesa police, four people on the plane died at the scene.

They were identified as Spencer Lindahl, 43, Rustin Randall, 48, Drew Kimball, 44 and Graham Kimball, 12, all of Arizona. The fifth person survived the accident and was taken to hospital with burn injuries, police said.

The driver of the vehicle involved in the accident was also killed, but police are withholding the person's name pending official confirmation of their identity.

The plane crashed through a metal fence and “some concrete walls,” a witness, Joshua Golabi, told CNN affiliate KPNX.

Golabi, himself a pilot, said he did not see the impact of the crash but heard it.

“We were just about to get on our plane and take off when we heard a bang and saw a cloud of smoke,” Golabi said.

KPNX reported that the plane was consumed by flames at one point.

“It’s just very concerning and reminds all pilots to always fly and maneuver as safely as possible,” Golabi said.

The NTSB is leading the investigation into the crash, a spokesman said.

CNN's Sara Finch and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.