3 dead after small plane crashes in Fairview neighborhood

FAIRVIEW Ore. (KPTV) - Three people are dead after a small plane crashed in a Fairview neighborhood on Saturday morning.

On Saturday afternoon, Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis said three people had been killed - the Cessna 421C pilot, a single passenger and someone who lived in one of the townhouses.

According to a statement from the Port of Portland, the crash happened around 10:20 a.m. near the Troutdale airport. It hit a row of townhouses on Heartwood Circle in Fairview.

At least one home was completely engulfed by flames immediately after the crash, but within an hour, firefighters had extinguished the fires.

The fire also displaced five families.

Frederick Gilbert said he was outside having a smoke when he heard the roaring of a plane engine.

“There was an instant fireball. I’ve never seen a fire go so fast,” Gilbert said. “I felt it slam against the side of the building. My wife was inside. When I came around the corner, there was a huge fireball.”

Officials said the plane hit a utility pole before striking the building, scattering debris everywhere. About 22,000 people lost power for several hours Saturday.

Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are working to determine what caused the Cessna 421C plane to crash just two miles from where it took off at the Troutdale Airport.

Audio between the plane and air traffic control reveals issues beginning at takeoff.

As the plane appeared to climb higher than allowed, the controller asks for the pilot’s intentions.

“We’re having some handling problems - this is a test flight,” the pilot can be heard saying in the recording.

The last thing recorded from the Cessna comes from a second voice - after the controller asks them to land.

“We’re going to try,” the second voice says.

Seconds later, a separate aircraft reported the crash.

A Troutdale Airport attendant who said they’d put gas in the plane Saturday before it took off, told FOX 12 that the aircraft had recently been in and out of maintenance.