Two pilots miraculously sustained only minor injuries in a plane crash yesterday morning in a DeKalb County neighborhood. The Beechcraft B90 King Air they were flying, en route from Miami to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, encountered an engine problem that forced the aircraft to divert its course, eventually impacting a residential area on the border of Dunwoody and Doraville, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
Roxy Barlow, shocked by the incident, described the moment the plane descended, "I heard something go ‘ahhhh,’ and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, that must be a really loud truck on the freeway.’ Because, you know, you can hear sounds from the freeway. But I was like, ‘This is too close to home.’" This encounter, detailed to WRDW, took place as she observed the commotion and realized the gravity of the situation unfolding near her residence.
Assistant Chief Brian Harris, reflecting on the crash, was reported by FOX 5 Atlanta saying, "It is an absolute Christmas miracle that two people crashed in an aircraft and walked away from it." The pilots were promptly taken to a local hospital following the incident. Remarkably, there was no reported injury to anyone on the ground, although the collision with the residential area left debris scattered across several yards.
The elderly DeWitt King, having lived on Sudbury Road for 42 years, spoke to FOX 5 Atlanta, "I probably would have had a heart attack if I had been inside," stating his amazement over the fact that an aircraft's landing wheel ended up against his garage door. When he came back from church, King found parts of the plane on his property but expressed relief above all else that the pilots were safe. "The house is one thing, but I wouldn't want those people to lose their lives either," he said.
As for the next steps, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have taken up the investigation into the cause of the crash. WRDW reports that a preliminary report is expected within 30 days, while a detailed final report could take 12-24 months to complete. Until then, city officials have given King the all-clear to remain in his home despite the wreckage.
