http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Plane-crashes-near-home-in-Belleville-84926517.html(KMOV) -- The pilot and passenger of a small plane are presumed dead after they crashed into a Metro-East home, igniting a blaze that destroyed the house.
Signal Hill Fire Chief Greg Render said a small plane crashed into a hangar connected to the home Sunday evening around 6:30 p.m. in the Aero Estates Court community. The crash ignited a fire in the hangar and the fire quickly spread to the house.
The fire was contained thanks to the efforts of nine fire departments.
The nearest water supply was roughly a mile away. Firefighters had to set up a system of tankers that took turns filling up at two hydrants and shuttling water back and forth.
No one was home at the time of the crash and nobody on the ground was injured. The plane was heading to Parks Airport in Cahokia, Illinois. Chief Render said two people were aboard the plane, but no bodies have been recovered.
The homeowners are safe, but their house was completely destroyed.
Aero Estates Court is a community of homes with hangars and private runways. No word yet if the two people in the plane lived in the community.
Reports said that it was a Piper PA-46 was on its way from Florida to the St. Louis Downtown airport in Cahokia.
