UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Three people are expected to be OK after their plane nosedived and crashed into the backyard of a Union County home on Monday afternoon, deputies said.
Authorities said the plane, which was being used in a JAARS (Jungle Aviation and Radio Service) mission camp, went down around 1:45 p.m. in the backyard along Radin Road, about 6 miles from the South Carolina border.
When emergency crews arrived at the crash site, deputies found a single-engine plane that had nosedived into the trees.
A pilot and two passengers were in the plane when it went down. The passengers were taken to the hospital but are expected to be OK.
The pilot was not hurt.
3 Survive Single Engine Plane Crash Emergency Responders were dispatched to an aircraft emergency Monday afternoon at...
Posted by Union County Sheriff's Office, Monroe, NC on Monday, August 2, 2021
Deputies believe the plane had mechanical problems shortly after it took off from the JAARS-Townsend Airport in Waxhaw.
JAARS posted on Facebook that the plane, a Cessna 172, failed to gain altitude upon take-off and performed an emergency landing into a wooded area just beyond the end of the runway at the JAARS-Townsend Airport.
A JAARS pilot and two campers were on-board. The two campers were taken to the hospital but were released a short time later.
According to JAARS, the plane is owned by a local flying club who donated the flight time to the mission aviation camp.
The FAA is handling the investigation.
Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.
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