Maryland plane crash: passengers left dangling for hours and 85K without power

A small plane crashed into a power line in Maryland on Sunday evening, leaving its occupants dangling in the air for hours and thousands of residents without power, authorities said. 

The single-engine Mooney M20J crashed into a transmission tower in Gaithersburg, Maryland, near Rothbury Drive and Goshen Road at around 5:30 p.m. ET, according to Peter Piringer, a spokesperson for Montgomery County’s Fire Department. 

The crash left the plane’s two passengers suspended at around 100 feet in the air for hours waiting to be rescued. The rescue crew had to make sure the tower was safe to access before they could even attempt to remove the passengers from the plane. 

ICYMI @MontgomeryCoMD Rescue operations @mcfrs @dcfireems Technical Rescue Team(s) rescue/removed 2 adult occupants trapped on plane that crashed into power lines in Gaithersburg, MD area. Tower & Crane company (contractors) working w/ PEPCO & @mcfrs to get plane down. https://t.co/bgesIAf7uQ pic.twitter.com/sY3O0Eq2tG

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) November 28, 2022

“There is no other way to determine if it is safe to access the tower until it is grounded or bonded which means crews have to go up to the wires to put clamps or cables onto the wires to ensure there is no static electricity, no residual power," said Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein. 

After completing the grounding, the rescue crew had to secure the plane to ensure that it didn’t fall over while they removed the individuals from inside. 

The passengers, later identified as pilot Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington, D.C., and passenger Jan Williams, 66, from Louisiana, were successfully rescued at around 1:11 a.m. on Monday, according to the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. 

Both were transported to local hospitals with “serious injuries,” Goldstein said. The injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. 

The collision led to widespread power outages, leaving almost 85,000 Pepco customers without electricity for hours. The power company said that by 2 a.m. ET, the electricity had been restored to its customers. 

"We are continuing to stabilize the energy infrastructure at the scene and are performing a full assessment of damage before beginning repairs," Pepco said in a tweet.

The crash is being investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board. 

We are pleased to have assisted @MCFRS and other local emergency personnel on the effort to safely rescue the individuals who were stranded in the airplane. We have restored electric service for all customers who were impacted by tonight’s incident.

— Pepco (@PepcoConnect) November 28, 2022