A commercial and shopping center in Plano, Texas, was enveloped in fire and smoke after a small aircraft crashed in the area, killing its pilot.
The single-engine aircraft, a Mooney M20, came down in the parking lot of a commercial center. Officials say that the plane crashed in front of a nail salon and a diner.
The accident occurred at around 18:00 local time on November 21, 2023. Many members of the public were out and about during those hours, and consequently a whole range of video footage of the crash scene has been uploaded to social media.
Subsequent videos show Plano firefighters containing the fire which engulfed the plane. The pilot, who was the lone passenger of the aircraft, was the only casualty in the accident.
“The plane did not actually land on or collide with anything,” a Plano Fire Rescue spokesperson said at a media conference. “However, the fire resulting from the crash did involve an unoccupied parked vehicle.”
The aircraft’s destination is not known, but the crash site is less than a kilometer from Air Park-Dallas Airport (F69).
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) are currently conducting investigations.