UPDATE: Victims of Plane Crash in Victoria, MN Identified
VICTORIA, Minn. (AP) — A relative has identified three people killed in the fiery crash of a small plane in southeastern Minnesota as a surgeon from Omaha, Nebraska, and two of his family members from Wyoming.
Jo Mertes, of Mantador, North Dakota, told the Star Tribune Sunday that her nephew, 42-year-old Jacob Mertes and his 37-year-old wife, Sara Mertes, of Libby, Montana, died along with her nephew’s 72-year-old stepfather, Dr. James Edney, who was piloting the plane.
There were no survivors.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was flying from Alexandria Municipal Airport to Eden Prairie’s Flying Cloud Airport before 6 p.m. Saturday when it went down and burst into flames in Victoria, a city of 7,300 about 25 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
**ORIGINAL STORY BELOW**
VICTORIA, Minn. (FOX 9) – Three people died Saturday when a plane came crashing to the ground in Victoria, Minnesota, the NTSB confirms.
The crash closed Highway 5 near Rose Street through the night as authorities investigated the crash site. NTSB has planned a presser for Sunday evening to brief the media on the crash.
According to the FAA, the single-engine plane took off from the Alexandria Municipal Airport and was set to land at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie when it went down at 5:40 p.m. and crashed into a vacant lot and a home.
No one on the ground was injured, officials said. Investigators from NTSB say the plane involved is a Mooney M20M aircraft.
NTSB is now working to determine exactly what caused the crash. The Carver County sheriff says there is debris in two spots, at the site along Highway 5 and then at an area to the south.
“It’s a tragic event for the friends and family, and everyone involved,” said Sheriff Jason Kamerud.
Video from a neighbor’s home security camera shows the plane hitting the ground before exploding into flames in the vacant lot and skidding towards the home. The video also shows people running to help after the crash.
Deputies are asking members of the public to avoid the area as the investigation is underway. Highway 5 reopened Sunday morning.
