Five dead after small plane crashes in Louisiana post office car park
Sports reporter Carley McCord, 30, is among the victims following the plane crash in the city of Lafayette, Louisiana.
Saturday 28 December 2019 23:31, UK
Five people have died after a small plane crashed into the car park of a post office in Louisiana shortly after take-off, authorities have said.
Sports reporter Carley McCord, 30, was among the victims, her husband Steven Ensminger Jr confirmed.
The two-engine Piper Cheyenne aircraft crashed in the city of Lafayette, about a mile from the regional airport where it took off, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro said.
It had been travelling to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl play-off game between LSU and Oklahoma, Mr Ensminger said.
Video and photos show a trail of scorched and burning grass around the crash site.
One person who was on board the plane was taken to hospital, along with another person who was on the ground at the time of the crash.
Two post office employees were also taken to hospital for evaluation, said Lafayette Fire Department spokesman Alton Trahan.
The aircraft was an eight-passenger plane, Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit told local news station KLFY-TV.
It crashed in a part of the city where there are many businesses, including fast food chains and banks.
One resident who lives near to the crash site, Marty Brady, 22, said the lights went out at his apartment as he was preparing to make coffee.
He said he ran out and saw black smoke and flames from the post office car park, and downed power lines.
"There were some people screaming and somebody yelled that it was a plane," he said.
Mr Brady said the plane clipped a power line over the gate to his apartment complex.
"If it had been a little lower, it could have been a lot worse."
Another witness, Kevin Jackson, told KLFY-TV that he heard a "massive explosion" and saw a "big old ball flame" when the aircraft crashed.
He and another eyewitness told the TV station that the plane hit a car as it fell and that someone could be heard screaming inside the vehicle.
Mr Molinaro said FAA and National Transportation Safety Board investigators were on their way to the site.
Ms McCord was a sports reporter for WDSU-TV in New Orleans and also appeared as a sideline reporter for ESPN.
"We are devastated by the loss of such an amazing talent and valued member of our WDSU family," said WDSU president and general manager, Joel Vilmenay.
"Carley's passion for sports journalism and her deep knowledge of Louisiana sports, from high school to the professional ranks, made her an exceptional journalist."
According to WDSU, Ms McCord was the daughter-in-law of Louisiana State University offensive coordinator football coach Steve Ensminger.
Ms McCord is the second journalist to die in a plane crash in Louisiana this year.
News anchor Nancy Parker died in August when she was doing a story in New Orleans about stunt pilot Franklin August.