The plane was approved for an emergency landing at John C. Tune Airport after reporting engine and power failure around 7:40 p.m. Monday, Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Aaron said. But the pilot soon told air traffic control that they wouldn’t make it to the tarmac.
The aircraft exploded into flames upon impact, Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Kendra Loney said.
“That impact was catastrophic and did not leave any survivors,” Loney said.
Police have yet to publicly identify the victims and are still working to determine where the plane originated from.
Witnesses reported the plane appeared to be “obviously in distress as it was coming over the interstate” and before it crashed into a grassy area behind a Costco alongside I-40 East, Aaron said.
SD/PR