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2 Killed After Plane Crashes Into DeKalb County Townhouse
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DeKalb County officials say two men were killed Wednesday when a plane crashed into a townhome near I-85 & Clairmont Road.
The plane with two people onboard crashed into a building at 2421 Peachwood Circle in the Hawthorne at Clairmont apartments, DeKalb County fire Capt. Dion Bentley told GPB News.
Dekalb Fire Captain Dion Bentley: "We have one confirmed fatality at this time."@gpbnews pic.twitter.com/YGpzgqa894— Sarah Rose (@MaybeSarahRose) October 30, 2019
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Beergen said a Piper PA-28 crashed shortly after departure from Runway 25 Left at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Witnesses told GPB reporter Sarah Rose they never imagined a plane would hit their neighborhood. Resident Christian Kahou said he heard a loud boom.
"We thought at first it was something like a truck passing by," Kahou said. He said he never imagined it was a plane.
"Life is short; one day you're here and the next you're gone," he said, lamenting the deaths of those onboard.
Stephane Kohn, who's lived in the neighborhood more than three years, said he just found out two people died in the plane crash as he was exiting the apartment complex.
"When I saw all the police cars, I decided to move away from the scene and found out it was a small plane," he said. "This is just surprising to me."
The cause of the crash has not been determined.
DeKalb County Medical Examiner Pat Bailey said officials are not yet ready to identify the victims. Bentley said one person was found shortly after the crash but rescuers weren't immediately able to reach the second person who was on the plane.
A large section of wall and part of the roof was knocked out of a building at the townhome complex. DeKalb County Fire Marshal Joe Cox declared six units unsafe.
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