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Glider crashes into family home near Connecticut airport

Pilot suffers minor injuries when aircraft loses power shortly after takeoff

Peter Stubley
Wednesday 05 June 2019 11:19 BST
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Glider crashes into house in Connecticut

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An electric-powered glider crashed into the roof of a family home shortly after taking off from an airport in Connecticut.

The pilot escaped with minor injuries after the aircraft came down in a residential area of Danbury at around 6pm on Tuesday .

Video footage of the scene shows the wreckage of the Silent 2 Electro gilder embedded in the attic of the two-storey house, around three miles from the runway.

A mother and her two young children were in the house at the time, according to a post on the Danbury Mayor’s Facebook page.

Yup, that’s my house,” wrote Amanda Vinicio Oliveira. “My two small girls and I are in the hospital.

“Much more than just physical injuries involved. We were inside the house when it hit.

“The plane landed in the attic and I was directly below it. I heard the engine and the pilot say ‘oh shit'.

“I ran through the hallway to get to the girls who were downstairs. I shouted to them to run outside and then the neighbour came running inside.

“I didn’t realise what happened until we were outside.”

The wreckage of the plane in the roof of the two-storey home in Danbury
The wreckage of the plane in the roof of the two-storey home in Danbury (Mayor of Danbury)

Ms Oliveira also made unconfirmed allegations that the pilot was “a millionaire business owner in Danbury”.

Firefighters said the glider lost power after taking off from Danbury Municipal Airport and reported that the three occupants of the house were not injured.

The accident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

“An Alisport Light Sport Aircraft crashed into the roof of a residential house in Danbury Connecticut this afternoon,” the FAA said in a statement.

“Only the pilot was on board. The FAA will investigate and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will determine the probable cause of the accident.”

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