Small plane crashes into home near Minneapolis and ignites fire, officials say

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — At least one person is dead after a small plane crashed into a home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, on Saturday afternoon, setting the house on fire, officials said.

The aircraft, a small executive transport plane capable of carrying six people, struck the home around 12:20 p.m. local time as it was headed to Anoka County-Blaine Airport in Minneapolis from Des Moines International Airport in Iowa, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

There are no survivors from the small plane, Brooklyn Park Fire Chief Shawn Conway said at a news conference. It's still unclear how exactly many people were on the aircraft, but officials are confirming at least one fatality, Brooklyn Park city spokesperson Risikat Adesaogun told CNN.

No fatalities were reported from inside the house. Video footage from the scene shows the home fully engulfed in flames as several onlookers are heard being told by fire officials on a loudspeaker: "The house is on fire. Please back away from the house near the fire!" Several fire trucks were on site.

When the fire department arrived on scene, the incident commander saw a "fully involved structure fire," Conway said. The aircraft wasn't found until after the fire was contained, he added.

"What we're asking for right now is for the neighborhood to please give us a little opportunity to continue to process the scene and work through this. There were no occupant fatalities. Everybody was exited the home safely," Conway said.

A Ring camera captured the moment the plane appears to fall out of the sky before it is heard crashing into a neighborhood. Cindy Leitschuh told CNN her family had unknowingly caught video of the plane.

While her husband, Curt, and their 8-year-old son were out front playing catch, they had set off their Ring camera.

"My 8-year-old son actually saw the plane going up and down," Leitschuh said. "He thought it was a drone. And then he's like: 'Yeah, I saw this plane going up and down and left and right, and then I saw a bunch of black smoke.' So then my husband went and looked at the Ring and saw it was on our Ring."

In a statement on X, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said: "My team is in touch with local officials on the scene in Brooklyn Park and we are monitoring the situation closely. Grateful to the first responders answering the call."

At the news conference, Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston thanked Walz for "supporting us and providing resources to our city."

"I will say that as a community and as a city, we're very much going to surround the families that have been affected by this," Winston said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, the FAA said. The NTSB will lead that probe and provide any updates.

The agencies were making their way to Minnesota on Saturday and will be "carrying out some of their duties as the investigation goes on," said city spokesperson Adesaogun, who added more information will likely become available on Sunday.

The suburb of Brooklyn Park lies about 11 miles north of Minneapolis.

Related topics