Small plane crashes into Fairview, Oregon home, killing 3 people

A small plane has crashed into homes near Portland, Oregon, killing both people on the plane and one person on the ground, according to local officials. The pilot reported control issues shortly before the crash.

The incident happened at around 10:20 a.m. on Saturday when the aircraft, a twin-engine Cessna 421C, crashed into a row of townhouses in Fairview, a small city a few miles to the east of Portland.

Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis confirmed that three people were killed in the crash, including the pilot, a passenger and someone who lived in one of the homes. Their identities were not immediately released.

Officials said the plane hit a power pole before crashing into the homes, causing a large fire which damaged multiple buildings. The downed power pole also caused a small brush fire and left thousands of people without power.

There was no official word on the cause of the deadly crash but an audio recording of air traffic control revealed that the pilot reported control issues just minutes after taking off from the nearby Troutdale Airport.

In the recording, the controller informs the pilot that he’s flying higher than allowed and tells him to descent. A short time later, the pilot appears to be struggling, saying: “We’re having some handling problems. This is a test flight. I can’t get this thing…”

The last message appeared to come from the passenger, who answered when the air traffic controller asked if they were able to land on runway 7 at Troutdale Airport. “We’re gonna try, we’re not sure,” she says, moments before the plane goes down.

Both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the cause of the crash.