Plane wreckage removed from north Phoenix home following crash

Phoenix plane crash: Cleanup efforts continue

We are hearing air traffic control audio from the moments leading up to a plane crash on March 4 in Phoenix. Three people were hurt as a result of the crash, and pieces of the plane were removed on March 5. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean reports.

PHOENIX - One day after a small plane crashed into a north Phoenix home just minutes after takeoff, we are hearing air traffic control audio from the moments leading up to the crash.

The backstory:

The crash happened at around 7:20 a.m. on March 4 near Cave Creek Road and Deer Valley Drive.

Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller says the plane took off from nearby Deer Valley Airport and was heading west. An unknown issue caused the pilot to try and circle back to the airport, but the plane crashed into the roof of a home before falling into the backyard of the home next door.

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SkyFOX video over the scene showed parts of the plane on the roof of a home, including a wing. The plane itself is on the ground next to a swimming pool. Surveillance video captured from a neighbor's house shows the moment the aircraft went down.

In all, three people were hurt as a result of the crash.

Latest Update:

Pieces of the plane, which were removed on March 5, were embedded in the roof of the first home that was hit. The roof of that home was covered, but not completely fixed, as of March 5. A construction crew was on site to help with the damaged roof.

"We want to clear all the debris that’s up there and then the goal is to just board it up for now, at least temporarily, put a tarp over it so that way we can secure it, make sure no rain gets through, no outside weather," said Ciryus White with Belfor Property Restoration. "There’s a big, big gaping hole in it. It goes all the way down into the house, but yeah, the goal is to get it fixed as soon as possible, get these people their house back."

 There was also a hazmat aspect to the crash, with Phoenix Fire saying fuel leaked into this home, including a child's room.

Timeline:

Air traffic control audio captured the moments before the crash.

"Deer Valley Airport, Cherokee 4-4 Tango, we’re gonna come back in, we are having some engine trouble, we haven’t lost our engine but we have low RPMs."

"Say nature of emergency," an air traffic controller asked.

"We lost engine RPMs, it’s not really an emergency, but we can’t make it back to the field," the pilot replied.

The person speaking from the plane was one of two individuals on board, later determined to be a student pilot and flight instructor with a flight school out of nearby Deer Valley Airport.

Within minutes, air traffic control was no longer able to reach them.

"We lost comms with him and we lost him on radar about maybe 3/4 of a mile east of the field, just slightly north of the centerline," a controller stated.

Then, roughly five minutes later:

"We’ve got the plane here, it’s into a house, right in our secure position right now. We do have fire department and police responding."

What's next:

Both the NTSB and the FAA are investigating the incident.