Two Rescued From Aircraft Left Dangling From Powerlines

The Mooney M20J collided with an electrical transmission tower as it was on approach to Montgomery County Airpark.

Monday, November 28, 2022 at 04:10 PM ET

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Two people were rescued from a Mooney M20J left dangling from a power transmission tower near an airport in Gaithersburg, Maryland (KGAI). [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

A small plane crashed into a power transmission tower near Gaithersburg, Maryland, leaving two people dangling 100 feet above ground for seven hours.
Under night IFR conditions with rain and mist, rescuers conducted a complex multi-agency operation to safely extract the pilot and passenger, who sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries and hypothermia.
The crash caused power outages for approximately 85,000 customers and led to school cancellations.
The incident is under NTSB investigation, with early speculation highlighting challenging instrument approach conditions and unstable airspeed as potential contributing factors.

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Two people were rescued from a small plane seven hours after they were left dangling from a power transmission tower near an airport in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Sunday night.

The aircraft—a Mooney M20J—was on approach to Montgomery County Airpark (KGAI) around 5:30 p.m. when, according to the Montgomery County Fire Department, the aircraft collided with the transmission tower north of the airport.