A devastating incident occurred in Fairview near Portland when a small plane, a twin-engine Cessna 421C, crashed into a neighborhood, causing death and destruction. The crash happened around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, near Troutdale Airport. Tragically, three people were confirmed dead by Gresham fire officials in the aftermath of the crash that set multiple townhomes on fire. According to KGW, among the victims were the two occupants on the plane and at least one resident from the townhomes.
Witnessing the sudden calamity, local resident Frederick Gilbert recounted to KPTV the moment of impact: "There was an instant fireball. I've never seen a fire go so fast," he said, recalling how the crash felt when it struck the side of a building. Gilbert's wife was inside at the time, and the fire was brought under control within an hour by firefighters, though not before displacing five families.
The National Transportation Safety Board has taken the lead in investigating this catastrophic event. Details of the crash are still under scrutiny as the NTSB collects information. A spokesperson for the agency, in a statement obtained by KOIN 6 News, revealed that the board was yet to comment on the specifics of the incident. In the meantime, the aftereffect of the collision left thousands in the vicinity without electricity for about four hours with power restored by 3:45 p.m., as per the Portland General Electric Outage map.
Neighbors have been left in shock, with Donnie Calvert likening the sound to “almost like a gas explosion” in his narration of the event to KOIN 6 News. The neighborhood struggled to grapple with the sudden turn of events. "I just felt so much empathy and sadness," Gina Schroeder expressed to reporters, reflecting a sentiment shared by many in the Fairview community rocked by the weekend tragedy.
