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(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — Five people have died after a single-engine plane crashed as it attempted to make an emergency landing in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday night, law enforcement said.
The control tower at Nashville’s John Tune airport received a message at about 7:40 p.m. from a pilot, who said their aircraft was experiencing engine and power failure and needed permission to land, Don Aaron, public affairs director for the Nashville Metropolitan Police, said at a press conference Monday night. The tower granted permission.
As the plane continued toward the airport, the pilot contacted the tower again to say the aircraft was not going to make it, Aaron said.
Witnesses told police the plane was in distress as it came over the interstate, the official said. The plane crashed behind a Costco just off the Eastbound lanes of Interstate 40, he said.
A spokesperson for the Nashville Fire Department said the plane imploded on impact. The “impact was catastrophic and did not leave any survivors,” the fire department rep said.
The fire department was met with heavy flames as they reached the scene, but they were able to extinguish it and preserve evidence from the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration arrived at the scene, the Metro Nashville Police Department said. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board were en route to investigate the incident, Aaron said.
Local officials are working with federal authorities to determine where the plane originated from. Authorities also do not yet know who was onboard.
The interstate was shut down following the incident an the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
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