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3 dead after small plane crashes into townhomes east of Portland
The crash sparked a fire that spread to four of the townhome units, according to fire officials. About 9,000 people lost power for hours due to downed power lines.
TROUTDALE, Ore. — Three people are confirmed dead after a small plane with two occupants crashed into a residential area near the Troutdale Airport Saturday morning, striking a set of power transmission lines and then hitting a row of townhomes, setting multiple units ablaze. The twin-engine Cessna 421C crashed at around 10:30 a.m. in Fairview, about 11 miles east of Portland.
Gresham fire officials confirmed Saturday evening that there were at least three fatalities in the incident, but said they could not confirm any other details about who died. The Federal Aviation Administration previously confirmed that there had been two people onboard the plane, and Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis said that one townhome resident was unaccounted for.
There were also multiple injuries in the incident, according to Lewis and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Deputy John Plock, but the extent of the injuries and the number of injured people were not known.
Video shot by people at the scene late Saturday morning showed at multiple units on fire in the row of townhomes, with debris strewn in front and visible flames in the upper story of one house and smoke billowing from a window of the other, with a large number of fire personnel responding.
There was a “somewhat large” debris field, Plock said, and there were two main crash areas because some pieces apparently began to break off after the plane hit the power equipment.
The crash side is located near a power transmission line, and video from the scene on Saturday showed multiple wires apparently knocked off of one of the transmission towers. Some of the lines landed in a nearby field and sparked a brush fire, Plock said, although the fire didn’t spread far.
The damage to the lines also caused a power outage; Portland General Electric confirmed that around 9,000 customers in the Fairview area had been impacted. PGE later said service had been restored to all impacted customers as of 3 p.m.
PGE told KGW on Saturday evening that its crews were onsite and working with National Transportation Safety Board officials to safely access the power equipment and assess the damage before beginning repairs. The transmission tower itself was still in place, PGE said; most of the damage appeared to be to the lines.
Lewis said fire crews were first notified of the incident by staff at the Troutdale Airport control tower, who reported a column of smoke west of the airport. Arriving crews found heavy fire in the row of townhomes, initially involving two units but later spreading to impact four in total.
The incident became a five-alarm fire, Lewis said, in part because the high temperatures on Saturday meant that fire personnel needed to frequently take breaks to avoid overheating. Portland Fire & Rescue and Vancouver Fire Department crews responded in addition to Gresham Fire Department crews.
The crash impact caused structural damage to the building, he added, so fire crews couldn’t safely work inside the building as much as they’d normally be able to in a residential fire, and had to focus more on exterior operations with overhead water from a ladder truck. He said it wasn’t clear if fuel from the plane helped feed the fire, but that the size of the smoke column in the initial reports suggested that it was possible.
A total of five families have been displaced, Lewis said, with the possibility of a sixth displaced family depending on the condition of their unit once fire crews assess it.
Plock added that volunteers from the Trauma Intervention Program had responded to the site to help the people who were displaced, and the Red Cross later told KGW that the agency had sent team members to scene and that all the affected families had safe places to stay lined up for Saturday night.
The FAA said the NTSB will lead the investigation into the crash, with the FAA also involved. An NTSB spokesperson told KGW that the agency has dispatched two investigators to the site who will document the plane wreckage and then move it to a secure facility for further evaluation.
Anyone who witnessed the accident or has surveillance video or other relevant information is asked to contact witness@ntsb.gov. The NTSB spokesperson said the agency would not discuss the cause of the accident during the on-the-ground investigation phase, and that it will be up to local authorities to release any information about victims or injuries.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The city has received national attention since Monday when it was maliciously distorted by false rumors that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbors’ pets.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two separate hospitals in Springfield, Ohio were placed under a brief lockdown Saturday morning after receiving bomb threats.
Security members at Kettering Health Springfield were notified of a bomb threat at approximately 6:50 a.m. and locked down the facility. Officers with the Springfield Police Department were then called in to search the premises with the security team.
Nothing suspicious was found and the lockdown was lifted around 7:15 a.m., a hospital spokesperson told 10TV.
According to CBS affiliate WHIO’s website, Mercy Health-Springfield Regional Medical Center also received a bomb threat just after 6 a.m.
“Mercy Health immediately put the hospital on lockdown while local authorities conducted a thorough search of the facility, in conjunction with our onsite security team,” a spokesperson for the hospital said.
Nothing was found at Springfield Regional Medical Center and the threat was determined to be not credible, the spokesperson told WHIO.
The city has received several other threats this week, including threats that bombs had been placed in the homes of Springfield’s mayor and other city officials, City Hall, a high school, middle school, two elementary schools and the local office of the state motor vehicles bureau.
The city has received national attention since Monday when it was maliciously distorted by false rumors that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbors’ pets. The claims were brought up by former President Donald Trump during Tuesday’s debate.
Officials in Springfield have tried to tamp down the misinformation by saying there have been no credible or detailed reports of any pets being abducted or eaten. State leaders are trying to help address some of the real challenges facing the city.
Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday he would add more law enforcement and health care resources to an aid package the state has already provided to Springfield.
Changes are coming to Minnesota’s automatic voter registration system after finding some potentially problematic entries.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Elections officials are making changes to Minnesota’s automatic voter registration system after finding some potentially problematic entries, but they say they are not aware of anyone ineligible who has been registered to vote via the system.
The Secretary of State’s Office said this week that more than 90,000 people have been registered or pre-registered since April, when Minnesota’s new system went live. Residents who apply for and receive state-issued IDs such as driver’s licenses are now automatically registered to vote without having to opt in if they meet legal criteria. And 16- and 17-year-olds can pre-register to vote once they turn 18.
Around 1 percent of those automatic registrations have been flagged for potential problems, said Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson, whose department issues driver’s licenses and other official identification cards, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
Secretary of State Steve Simon said those roughly 1,000 voter registrations will be kept “inactive” until the names, addresses and citizenship status are confirmed. He also said additional checks will be made to ensure that voters registered through the system meet the eligibility criteria. Flagged individuals will be notified that, if they are eligible, they will need to register online, at their local election office, or in person at their polling place on Election Day.
Republican legislators raised questions about the automatic voter registration system earlier this month. Jacobson told them in a letter on Thursday that he is not aware of any instances of Minnesotans being registered to vote who are ineligible to cast a ballot, but that the process improvements they are making will strengthen the verification system.
Republicans House and Senate leaders responded Friday saying they still have questions. They said 1 percent of registrants could work out to around 1,000 people. They asked for the actual number and pressed for confirmation on whether any were allowed to vote in the August primary election.
“The election is 52 days away, and early voting begins on September 20. Minnesotans want to trust our elections are secure and fair,” they said in a statement.
While Minnesota grants driver’s licenses to residents regardless of immigration status, officials say the identification document requirements provide sufficient safeguards against illegal voting.
In Oregon, which has a similar automatic registration system, officials acknowledged Friday that the state has mistakenly registered more than 300 non-citizens as voters since 2021 in what they described as a “data entry issue” that happened when people applied for driver’s licenses.
An initial analysis by the Oregon Department of Transportation revealed that 306 non-citizens were registered to vote, spokesperson Kevin Glenn said. Of those, two have voted in elections since 2021. State and federal laws prohibit non-citizens from voting in national and local elections.
Firefighters were able to enter the manhole and put oxygen on the man before removing him from the confined space.
FARIBAULT, Minn. — The Faribault Fire and Police Departments launched an investigation after they found a man in a manhole who later died.
The two agencies and an ambulance initially responded to the 1900 block of Second Avenue NW just after 7:30 a.m. on Saturday for reports of an unresponsive man in a manhole, according to a statement.
Upon arrival, the firefighters tested and verified the presence of “extremely high levels” of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide, with low levels of oxygen, according to the fire department.
Firefighters were able to enter the manhole and placed oxygen on the man before removing him from the confined space.
The man was air-lifted to a hospital but did not survive.
“This is a tragic event and our hearts go out to the family and friends of the individual,” said Fire Chief Dustin Dienst, in a social media post.
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