By Dennis Romero -
NBC News
Two people were rescued early Monday from a small plane stuck about 100 feet (30 meters) after colliding with a high-voltage transmission tower outside Gaithersburg, Maryland, authorities said.
The two people suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a trauma center after being rescued shortly before 12:30 a.m., Montgomery County Fire Department officials said at a news conference. .
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The two were initially thought to be unharmed and were communicating with first responders by cell phone while waiting to be rescued, the Maryland State Police and other officials said.
However, authorities said early Monday that the couple suffered physical trauma during the collision and may have also suffered exposure while waiting for rescuers in 50-degree weather.
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Officials explained at a news conference that rescuing them was difficult because any power lines near the plane wreckage need to be tested in person to make sure they wouldn't harm first responders or the two on board the plane.
“There is no other way to determine if the tower is safe to access until it is grounded or bonded, which means teams have to climb on the cables themselves to put clamps on to make sure there is no static, no residual energy,” Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein detailed at an earlier news conference.
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The Mooney M20J single-engine plane was reported down about four miles (6.4 kilometers) northwest of the Montgomery County Airpark around 5:40 p.m. Sunday, according to police officers and the Federal Aviation Administration.
In the area is the community of Montgomery Village.
"The police officers who arrived found the plane suspended in the air, entangled in a power line tower," the state police said in the statement.
Emergency workers stabilize a plane that crashed into a power line pylon before people on the plane could be pulled out, in Montgomery Village, Maryland, on November 27, 2022. Robb Hill / The Washington Post viaGetty Images
They identified the pilot as Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington DC, and the passenger as Jan Williams, 66, of Louisiana.
The aircraft had taken off from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
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Officials said about 120,000 utility customers in the area lost power at one point late Sunday, but power had been redirected and restored for most by early Sunday.
Pepco, Potomac Electric Power Co., announced in a statement that its teams have responded to the accident site and have worked with authorities to expedite rescue and power restoration.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the collision.
The intersection under the plane, Rothbury Drive and Goshen Road, will remain closed until the plane can be removed and power lines restored, according to authorities.
