1 killed after plane crashes into DeKalb townhome complex

A plane crashed into a building at a townhome complex in DeKalb County’s Briarcliff neighborhood on Wednesday, killing at least one of the two passengers on board.

The plane came down at the Clairmont Hills Townhouses, which is in the area of I-85 and Clairmont Road, DeKalb fire spokesman Capt. Dion Bentley said from the scene.

The Piper PA-28 crashed shortly after departure from DeKalb-Peachtree Airport at 10:30 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

1 killed after plane crashes into DeKalb townhome complex

This is terrible. Thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.

Not many details yet. The weather has been bad today. The Visibility was 3 miles at the time of the crash and heavy rain had just passed the area.

I always wondered what gives the airlines the right to fly over people's houses when the fact of the matter is that if anything goes wrong with a plane, it's got nowhere to go but down. Scares the hell out of me to think about all the things flying up there on a day to day basis.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Many airports were built out in non populated areas, then urban sprawl happens, developers don’t give a rats butt and build tract houses right next to and in line with airport runways. Many airports closed because the idiots who bought next to the airport didn’t do their due diligence, complained and sued the airport and the Mayor or whom ever would sell the airport, so then the ones that are still open get busier. Get it?

a reply to: BrianFlanders

PDK Airport is a small airport. It was not a commercial jetliner.

It was a single-engine plane that was made in 1973.

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: BrianFlanders

PDK Airport is a small airport. It was not a commercial jetliner.

It was a single-engine plane that was made in 1973.

Yeah. But airliners can also crash and they fly over populated areas all the time.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Yes, that is true.

It would be more than 100 times worst if it was a big jet. It is scary to think of.

How many times has that happened? I can't think of one time a commercial jet has crashed into housing. It must of happened before though. I remember it happening with military jets.

PDK is small but busy for it's size, wasn't too long ago when that small plane crash on I-285. Used to live nearby and traffic has picked up even in the night time. Plus didn't they extend the runway(s) to allow larger planes? not commercial airplanes but cargo and private planes.

planecrashmap.com...

a reply to: putnam6

didn't they extend the runway(s)

I know they were talking about it. I am not sure if it has happened yet.

wasn't too long ago when that small plane crash on I-285

I remember a cargo plane landing on 400 years ago and killing some people in a mini van or SUV.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Airline accident rates are almost as low as they can be. There hasn't been a major commercial accident in the US since 2009, when Colgan Air went down. There have been something like three cargo accidents in that time, one of which came down on the property of a business near the airport. There were no ground fatalities, and minor property damage related to those accidents.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: BrianFlanders

Airline accident rates are almost as low as they can be. There hasn't been a major commercial accident in the US since 2009, when Colgan Air went down. There have been something like three cargo accidents in that time, one of which came down on the property of a business near the airport. There were no ground fatalities, and minor property damage related to those accidents.

There's a first time for everything. I still don't like the idea of all this crap flying over my head. I don't care how rare it is.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Then go live in the middle of nowhere or on an island. Although even there planes are flying over your head so you might not even be safe there. Maybe we should go back to wagons and steam ships.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
I always wondered what gives the airlines the right to fly over people's houses when the fact of the matter is that if anything goes wrong with a plane, it's got nowhere to go but down. Scares the hell out of me to think about all the things flying up there on a day to day basis.

First, it wasn't an airliner. It was a Piper PA-28, which is a 2 or 4 seat small plane that weighs as little as 1900 pounds. It's not a 747 that grosses out at almost a million pounds. And you state as a 'fact' that "if 'anything' goes wrong it goes noehere but down. I've had plenty of things go wrong without the aircraft going down. If it blows a tire, or loses the battery, or has a broken windshield, it doesn't go down. Even if the engine blows up or quits at 5000 feet, a PA-28 can glide about 10 miles before lwnding. And if flown properly, a PA-28 can slow down to 50 miles a hour or so before hitting anything.

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: BrianFlanders

Yes, that is true.

It would be more than 100 times worst if it was a big jet. It is scary to think of.

How many times has that happened? I can't think of one time a commercial jet has crashed into housing. It must of happened before though. I remember it happening with military jets.

American Airlines Airbus Flight 587 in 2001. 5 killed on the ground. Colgan Air Flight 3407 (Bombardier Q400) in 2009, with 1 killed in the house. So in the last 18 years that's 2 out of the 602 million commercial flights in the US in that time period.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: BrianFlanders

Then go live in the middle of nowhere or on an island. Although even there planes are flying over your head so you might not even be safe there. Maybe we should go back to wagons and steam ships.

Or I could stay where I am and just state my opinion that it's weird that you can tell someone to get off your property because they annoy you but you just have to put up with some massive company putting you in danger by flying machines over your head while you sleep.

I mean, of course we live in 2019 and planes exist but it's just an odd inconsistency in human thinking. It might be rare but it can happen. There's plenty of aircraft wreckage on the ocean floor to prove that. So your odds of being struck by lightening are probably higher than having a plane crash into your house. I still don't have to like the idea of being struck by lightening even if there's nothing I can do about it and it's rare anyway.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

And where should they fly? There are something like 87,000 flights over the US daily counting commercial, general, and business flights. If you're going anywhere domestically you have to fly over someone somewhere. You can't keep that many aircraft clear of everyone.

originally posted by: F4guy

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
I always wondered what gives the airlines the right to fly over people's houses when the fact of the matter is that if anything goes wrong with a plane, it's got nowhere to go but down. Scares the hell out of me to think about all the things flying up there on a day to day basis.

First, it wasn't an airliner. It was a Piper PA-28, which is a 2 or 4 seat small plane that weighs as little as 1900 pounds. It's not a 747 that grosses out at almost a million pounds. And you state as a 'fact' that "if 'anything' goes wrong it goes noehere but down. I've had plenty of things go wrong without the aircraft going down. If it blows a tire, or loses the battery, or has a broken windshield, it doesn't go down. Even if the engine blows up or quits at 5000 feet, a PA-28 can glide about 10 miles before lwnding. And if flown properly, a PA-28 can slow down to 50 miles a hour or so before hitting anything.

OK. You win at semantics. It wasn't an airliner and I know that. But if it was an airliner it would suck a whole lot more, wouldn't it?

Next, obviously I did not mean if it has a relatively minor issue it has nowhere to go but down. I meant that if something really bad happens, it has to come down somewhere. Unfortunately, lack of precedent does not guarantee lack of occurrence. I've never had a life threatening injury and I'm about 50. Does that mean I should be careless?