INDEPENDENCE, Ore. — Officials released more details Sunday about Saturday's deadly plane crash just outside Independence State Airport and identified the occupants of the plane.
The pilot and two passengers died when the single-engine plane traveling from McMinnville to Independence crashed amidst heavy fog late Saturday afternoon, according to the Independence Police Department and Polk County Fire District No. 1.
The occupants were identified as Mohammad Hussain Musawi and Mohammad Bashir Safdari, both 35, from Independence, and 29-year-old Ali Jan Ferdawsi of Salem. Musawi was the pilot, while Safdari and Ferdawsi were passengers.
The owner of the plane was not on board when it crashed around 4:55 p.m. near Hoffman Road and James Street just outside of the airport. It brought down power lines, sparked a small brush fire and knocked out power to nearly 400 homes overnight.
"I was upstairs and suddenly we heard a series of booms, loud kind of 'boom, boom, boom, bang' and then all the power fluctuated, a little dim and then everything went out all at once," said resident Aaron Forbes. "You could almost immediately see the fire as soon as we walked outside because the field caught on fire as soon as the plane crashed."
High-voltage power lines had to be deenergized by the power company before the fire could be fully extinguished and emergency personnel could reach the site to investigate.
"The electricity was still popping, and you could see it every five or 10 minutes. You could hear the transformers, the electrical line just lighting up the sky with blue plasma. It was pretty dangerous," Forbes added.
Pacific Power reports that power was restored Sunday afternoon.
"Our thoughts are with the families of those involved in the crash." officials said.
Police are investigating, alongside the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
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