Two people, who spent nearly seven hours stranded 100 feet (30 meters) above the ground after their plane crashed into live power lines, have been rescued.
The incident happened around 5:40 p.m. Sunday near Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Maryland – leaving about 120,000 inhabitants without electricity.
Rescuers managed to “electrically ground” the plane around 11:30 p.m., Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said.
They then secured the plane to the pylons before the pair were brought down to safety at 12:36 a.m. Monday.
Both men suffered “serious injuries” from the crash, and hypothermia was also an issue, the fire chief said.
The men were named by Maryland State Police as pilot Patrick Merkle, 65, from Washington DC and passenger Jan Williams, 66, from Louisiana.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the cause of the crash was not immediately clear and a joint investigation with the National Transportation Safety Board is underway.
Utility company Pepco said around 120,000 customers were without power immediately after the crash, but by the time the men were rescued most had their supply restored.
Mr Goldstein said the next step was to remove the plane before the power lines could be restored and reconnected.
