Las Vegas NowPlane Crashes Into NLV Airport Neighborhood

Plane Crashes Into NLV Airport Neighborhood

A twin engine Piper Navajo crashed and burst into flames between two houses on Jones, just south of Cheyenne. The pilot, and sole occupant of the plane, was killed.

Eyewitness News has confirmed the identity of the pilot. His name was William J. Leahy Jr.

SLIDESHOW: Plane Crashes Into Neighborhood

The plane took off from the North Las Vegas airport around 2:30 p.m. heading for Palo Alto, California. Shortly after departing, the pilot reported he was experiencing a rough running engine and requested to return to the North Las Vegas Airport. At least two people reported they could see flames coming from the aircraft.

It crashed about a half mile short of Runway Seven.

The plane clipped power lines causing a major outage in the area before hitting an empty car and crashing into a wall between two homes. Fuel from the plane igniting one of those houses, said Tim Szymanski with the Las Vegas Fire Department.

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Three adults and two children were in the house where the plane crashed. They ran out the front door and were able to escape danger. One suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to UMC.

Six adults and six children have been displaced by the crash. The American Red Cross is assisting. No one on the ground was injured.

The plane flew over a construction crew working on the Jones Blvd. A water truck used by the construction crew was parked in front of the house where the plane crashed. One of the workers started shooting water onto the flames immediately.

There were 900 homes in the area without power and police and fire officials shut down the area to drivers while they worked to clean up the accident.

The Piper Navajo is registered to a Gardena, California based company. Airport officials say the plane underwent mechanical work at North Las Vegas. It was built in 1981.

Eyewitnesses report the plane was having obvious problems. Several say they saw fire and smoke coming from the plane before it crashed.

FAA inspectors responded to the scene. The FAA and the NTSB will investigate the crash.

This is the second plane from North Las Vegas Airport to crash into a house in the past week. 80-year-old Jack Costa, 76-year-old Lucy Costa and pilot 76-year-old Mack Murphree, Junior, all died when an experiment plane slammed into a home near the airport.