Aircraft Wing Impacted A Home Day Care Center, All On The Ground Are Fine

ANN Realtime Update 2.17.2010 1936 EST: The three people aboard the Cessna 310 which crashed in Palo Alto Wednesday morning were employees of Tesla Motors, the makers of a high-end electric roadster. The Tesla website confirms that they lost three of their employees in the crash, but their names were being withheld pending notification of relatives. The crash reportedly sparked two fires in the residential neighborhood where the plane went down, according to multiple media sources.

Original Story: A Cessna 310 departing from Palo Alto Airport (KPAO) in the San Francisco Bay Area struck a high-tension transmission pole shortly after takeoff Wednesday morning, crashing into a residential neighborhood. No one on the ground was injured, but all three people on board the plane were killed.

File Photo

The weather was reported as "pea soupy" by local authorities, and all three Bay area airports reported being below IFR minimums.

Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said it appeared the plane hit the transmission tower, shearing off a wing which landed on top of the home day care center. The rest of the aircraft hit about in the middle of a residential street, skidding down the road and causing several cars, lawns, and at least one home to catch fire. "The plane landed in the center of the street," Schapelhouman said. "If not, many more individuals would have been impacted, perhaps killed."

Mineta San Jose International Airport spokesman David Vossbrink told the San Jose Mercury News 16 Southwest flights were cancelled Wednesday morning due to the fog. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said that the plane was en route to Hawthorne Municipal Airport (KHHR) in Southern CA.

The accident, which according to Palo Alto police occurred at about 0755, caused a widespread power outage in the region. Stanford University hospital was operating on emergency generators, and some businesses closed for the day due to the lack of electricity.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov