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Pilot killed after fiery crash into Madeira home identified

Pilot killed after fiery crash into Madeira home identified
WITNESSES. REPORTER: THEY CALLED 911 AND TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO NEXT. THEY KNEW THAT THERE COULD NOT BE SURVIVORS, BUT COMING TO TERMS WITH THAT WILL NOT BE EASY. THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF THE AFTERMATH AS DEVASTATING AS WHAT NEIGHBORS WITNESSED. I HEARD A LOT BEING -- A LOUD BANG. THEN A COUPLE SECONDS LATER I SENT A TEXT TO MY HUSBAND AND SAID DID YOU GUYS HEAR THAT? IT SOUNDED LIKE A PLANE CRASH. REPORTER: IT WAS. A SMALL PLANE BARRELED INTO A MADEIRA HOME, KILLING THE ONLY MAN ON BOARD. KNOWING THE FAMILY WHO LIVED HERE IS SAFE, IS NEIGHBOR JENNY BROCK’S ONLY COMFORT. >> ALL I CAN THINK OF RIGHT NOW IS THAT SOMEBODY LOST A HUSBAND OR A FATHER. I COULDN’T IMAGINE. REPORTER: HER SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS CAPTURED THE SMOKE, AN IMAGE BURNED IN HER MIND FOREVER. >> IT WAS A TOTAL OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE. REPORTER: THAT SEEMS TO BE THE GENERAL CONSENSUS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. AWESTRUCK AND SHAKEN, WATCHING HOW QUICKLY LIVES CAN CHANGE. >> AT FIRST IT JUST SEEMED STRANGE THAT THERE WAS A PLANE IN THE NEIGHBOR’S BACKYARD AND THEN YOU IMMEDIATELY THINK, THIS IS REALLY HORRIFIC. THIS IS REALLY BAD. REPORTER: CARTER WAIDE SHOT THIS VIDEO AFTER CALLING 911. MEANWHILE, PILOT AND NEIGHBOR BILL HECKLE TOOK FLIGHT AT LUNKEN, THE SAME AIRPORT AS THE FALLEN PILOT, AND WITH NO IDEA A PLANE HAD JUST GONE DOWN. >> ABSOLUTELY IDEAL FLYING CONDITIONS. VERY CALM IN THE AIR. REPORTER: HIS WIFE PANICKED THINKING IT WAS HIM NOW RELIEVED TO KNOW HE’S SAFE. EVEN STILL, THE LOSS HITS HOME IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. >> ANYTIME A PLANE GOES DOWN, THE COMMUNITY OF PILOTS ARE ALWAYS VERY SADDENED BY THAT. REPORTER: OUR AVIATION EXPERT TELLS US IT’S UNLIKELY THAT A PLANE AS SMALL AS THIS ONE WOULD HAVE HAD A BLACK BOX SO IN ADDITION TO THE CRASH SCENE, THE SURVEILLANCE AND CELL PHONE VIDEOS THAT NEIGHBORS TOOK COULD HELP INVESTIGATORS IN THIS INVESTIGAT
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Pilot killed after fiery crash into Madeira home identified
A pilot is dead after a plane crashed into a home in Madeira, Ohio, fire officials said Tuesday night.Officials identified the pilot as 62-year-old David Sapp, of Sun City, Arizona.The plane went down around 3:18 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Kaywood Drive and Rollymeade Avenue, just a few blocks from Kenwood Country Club.According to crash investigators, a twin-engine Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft crashed into the backyard of a Rollymeade home, slamming into a remodeled rear extension.The fiery crash sent plumes of black smoke into the air and could be seen from miles around."I heard a loud bang and then, a couple seconds later, I sent a text to my husband and said, 'Did you guys hear that? It sounded like a plane crash,'" neighbor Jenny Brock said. "I knew right away."The pilot -- later identified as Sapp -- was killed in the crash. Officials initially said additional occupants could be on board but have since clarified that Sapp was the sole occupant.No one inside the home was injured, officials said, and every living being inside – including two dogs – is accounted for.According to Madeira-Indian Hill Fire Chief Steve Ashbrock, the plane was going to Lunken Airport.Ashbrock said the plane had been tasked with taking aerial photos in the area. The cause of the crash remains unknown and is under investigation.Patrol officials say the plane was registered to Marc Inc., based in Bolton, Mississippi. A message seeking comment was left for the company's attorney.Bill Heckle, who lives in the neighborhood, is a pilot and he was in the air in the same area shortly after the crash."Absolutely ideal flying conditions. Very calm in the air," Heckle said.He said that when he landed, he had several missed calls and texts from his wife, who had been worried that he was on the plane that went down. He said she was emotional and relieved when he called her after landing. Still, he is mourning the pilot who was killed."Anytime a plane goes down, the community of pilots are always very saddened by that," he said.The typically quiet neighborhood was transformed into a chaotic scene Tuesday afternoon. Children riding bicycles and couples walking dogs all watched the fiery scene unfold.David Moore said he was waiting for his grandson to get off the school bus when he noticed the low-flying plane."Then, all of a sudden, it just tipped and went straight down," Moore said. "…It just angled right down into the backyard of the house over here, got a swimming pool in the backyard."The fiery impact left a gaping hole in the rear of the home. Moore said he quickly called 911."There was just a small fire," Moore said. "It hit a house – part of a house – and it flipped over. So it landed on the nose of the plane and the rest of the fuselage was intact. But then, by the time the fire department got there, the fire (burned) up the whole plane."

A pilot is dead after a plane crashed into a home in Madeira, Ohio, fire officials said Tuesday night.

Officials identified the pilot as 62-year-old David Sapp, of Sun City, Arizona.

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The plane went down around 3:18 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Kaywood Drive and Rollymeade Avenue, just a few blocks from Kenwood Country Club.

According to crash investigators, a twin-engine Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft crashed into the backyard of a Rollymeade home, slamming into a remodeled rear extension.

The fiery crash sent plumes of black smoke into the air and could be seen from miles around.

"I heard a loud bang and then, a couple seconds later, I sent a text to my husband and said, 'Did you guys hear that? It sounded like a plane crash,'" neighbor Jenny Brock said. "I knew right away."

The pilot -- later identified as Sapp -- was killed in the crash. Officials initially said additional occupants could be on board but have since clarified that Sapp was the sole occupant.

No one inside the home was injured, officials said, and every living being inside – including two dogs – is accounted for.

According to Madeira-Indian Hill Fire Chief Steve Ashbrock, the plane was going to Lunken Airport.

Ashbrock said the plane had been tasked with taking aerial photos in the area. The cause of the crash remains unknown and is under investigation.

Patrol officials say the plane was registered to Marc Inc., based in Bolton, Mississippi. A message seeking comment was left for the company's attorney.

Bill Heckle, who lives in the neighborhood, is a pilot and he was in the air in the same area shortly after the crash.

"Absolutely ideal flying conditions. Very calm in the air," Heckle said.

He said that when he landed, he had several missed calls and texts from his wife, who had been worried that he was on the plane that went down. He said she was emotional and relieved when he called her after landing. Still, he is mourning the pilot who was killed.

"Anytime a plane goes down, the community of pilots are always very saddened by that," he said.

The typically quiet neighborhood was transformed into a chaotic scene Tuesday afternoon. Children riding bicycles and couples walking dogs all watched the fiery scene unfold.

David Moore said he was waiting for his grandson to get off the school bus when he noticed the low-flying plane.

"Then, all of a sudden, it just tipped and went straight down," Moore said. "…It just angled right down into the backyard of the house over here, got a swimming pool in the backyard."

The fiery impact left a gaping hole in the rear of the home. Moore said he quickly called 911.

"There was just a small fire," Moore said. "It hit a house – part of a house – and it flipped over. So it landed on the nose of the plane and the rest of the fuselage was intact. But then, by the time the fire department got there, the fire (burned) up the whole plane."