On Nov. 21, 2023, a single-engine aircraft crashed in a Plano shopping center off of 6509 W. Park Blvd. The pilot was killed in the crash.
According to the AP, around 6 p.m. a single-engine Mooney M20 crashed near Mama's Daughter's Diner and Nail Addiction. Only one person was in the plane — police verified that the pilot died in the incident on-site.
Update: Nov. 27, 2023 | 9 a.m. The city of Plano identified the pilot as Elzie M. McDonald, from Arizona. McDonald was just days away from celebrating his 88th birthday, and was visiting Dallas to see family for Thanksgiving.
According to WFAA, the wreckage site was situated less than half a mile from Air Park-Dallas Airport, a nearby single-runway facility. Initial reports suggested that the aircraft departed from this airport shortly before the crash. But communication transcripts between McDonald and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) personnel at the airport reveal that the pilot was attempting to land there but deemed it too dark. McDonald is heard expressing his intention to consider landing at Addison's airport instead, after which communication abruptly ceases.
The originally article continues below.
The collision resulted in a parked car igniting, though authorities stated that there was no one inside the vehicle at the time, according to AP. No businesses in the center were damaged by the crash.
"The fire was extinguished last night and the FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash ongoing," Plano Fire-Rescue Public Information Officer Daniel Daly told Local Profile. "They only info we have to share is that the plane didn’t crash onto or into anything upon impact, however it did come to a stop very near an unoccupied parked car which was involved in the resultant fire."
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are currently leading the investigation into the origin of the crash.
The FAA is also investigating a single-engine Lancair IV-P that crashed into a vehicle in neighboring McKinney on Nov. 13, 2023. The aircraft was coming from Midland and attempting to make an emergency landing at Aero Country Airport. One person, who sustained minor injuries in the vehicle, was transported to the hospital.
This article was originally published on Nov. 21, 2023.