AFTON, Minn. — Washington County officials confirmed two people died Saturday after a small plane crashed near Afton, Minnesota.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said a single-engine Globe GC-1B crashed in a residential area of Afton around 10 a.m. On Monday the victims were identified as 85-year-old William Patrick Moore of White Bear Lake and 68-year-old Jay Zahler of Baytown Township.
Neighbors say they heard the plane flying very low, before hearing it hit the ground.
"As I was going out the front door, I could hear it trying to accelerate," Kristy Petrich said. "By the time I got out in the driveway, I heard a pop and it slammed into the neighbors' yard."
Petrich says neighbors used garden hoses to try and extinguish the flames coming from the plane before fire crews arrived on scene.
"It's gotta be really traumatic, and I feel really bad for them," Petrich said. "I'm just glad that it didn't move over a little bit closer to where it hit the house."
Laura Perkins, the public information manager for the Washington County Sheriff's Office, told reporters on Saturday afternoon that Washington County 911 service got multiple calls on Saturday morning about a possible explosion.
When emergency crews arrived on the scene, they found a two-seat aircraft fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating.
Perkins said the nearby house was not damaged in the crash.
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