A small plane crashed in a West Texas neighborhood on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and a passenger and igniting a large fire on the ground that injured a woman, according to authorities.
Witnesses reported that the plane struggled to gain altitude after departing from an Odessa airport, eventually striking a power line before crashing into an alley around 7 a.m. Both individuals aboard the plane were killed.
Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis noted that it was clear the pilot attempted to avoid hitting the nearby houses.
The ground fire, which grew large after a couple of explosions following the crash, caused significant damage, said Odessa Fire Rescue Chief Jason Cotton. Several mobile homes and outbuildings in backyards caught fire. A woman had to be rescued from one of the burning mobile homes and was transported to a hospital. The crash also caused damage to vehicles, fences, and a restaurant in the city, which has a population of about 114,000.
The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the pilot as Joseph Vincent Summa, 48, from the Houston suburb of Bellaire, and the passenger as Joleen Cavaretta Weatherly, 49, from Orange, east of Houston.
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The plane involved was a Cessna Citation business jet, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will conduct investigations into the crash.
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