Plane Was Cleared for Emergency Landing, Didn't Make It

Plane crashes off highway near Nashville's John C. Tune Airport, killing 5
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 5, 2024 9:45 AM CST
Plane Falls Short of Airport, Killing 5
Emergency officials work the scene of a fatal small-plane crash alongside Interstate 40 on Monday in Nashville, Tennessee.   (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A single-engine plane crashed near a highway in Nashville, Tennessee, just a few miles short of the airport it had tried to reach for an emergency landing on Monday, killing five people aboard, authorities said, per the AP. The pilot made an emergency call to John C. Tune Airport around 7:40pm local time, reported engine trouble, and was given clearance to make an emergency landing, said Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron. A short time later, the pilot radioed that the aircraft wouldn't reach the airport, he said. The plane burst into flames when it crashed in a grassy median just off Interstate 40 and behind a Costco on the city's west side, about 3 miles south of the general aviation airport. "It appears that everyone on board perished," Aaron said.

In a statement early Tuesday on the social media platform X, police said five people died. It noted that the Federal Aviation Administration was at the scene, and that the National Transportation Safety Board planned to arrive Tuesday. Nashville International Airport spokesperson Stacey Nickens said the aircraft left Mount Sterling, Kentucky, around 7:19pm and was set to arrive at John C. Tune Airport in Nashville around 7:43pm, the Tennessean reported. There were no injuries to drivers on the interstate, Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Kendra Loney said. Authorities said no vehicles or buildings on the ground were damaged.

(More plane crash stories.)

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