CNN
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A small plane crashed onto the shoulder of Interstate 40 in Nashville and burst into flames Monday night, killing all five people on board, police said.
Two adults and three children were on the plane, National Transportation Safety Board air safety inspector Aaron McCarter said Tuesday. The victims are Canadian citizens and authorities are working to identify them.
John C. following an engine and power failure around 7:40 p.m. Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Dan Aaron said the plane was cleared to make an emergency landing at Dune Airport. But the pilot soon told air traffic control that they were not going.
Audio from website LiveATC.net It captured the communication between the pilot and the air traffic controller before the accident.
“Do you still see John Tune Airport?” asked the air traffic controller.
“My engine stopped. Sixteen hundred for me [feet]. I'm going to land … I don't know where,” replied the pilot.
Witnesses said the plane was “obviously distressed coming down the interstate” before it crashed in a grassy area behind Costco on I-40 east, Aaron said.
“We luckily the plane went down and didn't hit any buildings,” Aaron said.
The plane burst into flames, Nashville Fire Department spokeswoman Kendra Loney said.
“The impact was devastating and left no survivors,” Loney said.
The NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash of the single-engine plane, the FAA said. The NTSP said the plane was a Piper PA-32.
The plane originated in Ontario, Canada and made stops in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Mount Sterling, Kentucky, “most likely to take on gas,” NTSB investigator McCarter said. The plane was headed to John Tune Airport in Nashville on Monday night, but for unknown reasons overran the airport at an altitude of 2,500 feet.
The plane then made a U-turn, reported total loss of engine power and crashed on the side of the highway.
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The crash prompted the temporary closure of I-40 East at the 202 mile marker, Tennessee Department of Transportation Region 3 spokeswoman Rebecca Hammonds said. In X.
Witness video showed a plane engulfed in flames and smoke, and images shared by police showed the plane's mangled frame on a grassy roadway surrounded by first responders.
Live traffic cameras showed a large emergency vehicle response and a string of gridlocked traffic blocking all eastbound lanes near the crash site. For the closed portion of I-40 East.
CNN's Jameel Lynch, Pete Mundeen, Amanda Jackson and Carol Alvarado contributed to this report.
