Fayette Co. 911: 2 Dead In Plane Crash Near Nemacolin Resort
FARMINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) -- Two people were killed and another was injured Friday when a plane went down in the woods near Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.
The single-engine plane crashed about a half mile from the airfield on Nemacolin Woodlands property, killing two and injuring a third person.
A small plane went down after taking off at a private runway owned by Nemacolin Woodlands Resort around 2:15 p.m. Friday in Farmington, Pa. Three people were on board the Beechcraft BE36. Two died, and a third male victim was flown to UPMC Mercy Trauma and Burn Center to be treated for his injuries. He was able to get out of the plane on his own.
Saturday, the Fayette County Coroner's Office identified the two victims as 68-year-old Terry Carlson and 26-year-old Jason Willems.
The plane came down in a private residential area near the resort's golf course.
Brian VanSickle, the Farmington VFD chief, was hunting in the woods nearby when he heard a loud noise, then he saw smoke fill the air.
"I did hear, it sounded like it did have an engine malfunction," he said.
VanSickle was hunting with four of his fellow firefighters when he heard a loud noise.
"I was within several hundred yards of this plane coming down while I was hunting, and it… I didn't know what it was at first, but then when the woods filled with white smoke, and we could hear bystanders hollering, we just shifted from the hunting mode into the fire-and-rescue mode," he said.
"Planes that come into Nemacolin, being that it's a private runway, are familiar with it, and they come and go as they please," VanSickle said.
Officials at Nemacolin released a statement Friday afternoon saying, "There is no public access to the crash site as fire and public safety officials continue their work. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by this accident."
Officials from the FAA and NTSB were at the crash site Saturday to determine how the plane went down. State police were guarding the scene.
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