Thread by @DKaplanFox5DC

BREAKING:

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue confirms a small plane has crashed into some power lines in the Gaithersburg area.

Plane is still entangled in the lines 100 feet in the air.

2 occupants not hurt.

Widespread power outages in the area.

We're on the way.

#Fox5DC

Here's a look at the current Pepco outages.

According to Pepco, nearly a quarter of their Montgomery County customers don't have power as of this tweet.

We are about 10 minutes away from the scene.

Stay with this Twitter thread for the latest developments.

#Fox5DC

PHOTO OF PLANE ENTANGLED IN WIRES: here’s our first look through #Fox5DC photographer @wagener_joe lens. Last report from Fire and EMS is that pilot and passenger are ok and communicating with 911. #Fox5DC

Here are some pictures of the plane and people looking at it right now. Looks like power in the immediate vicinity is still on. #Fox5DC

Quick video from the scene. Can see onlookers and fire crews figuring this out. #Fox5DC I’m about to hop on a Facebook live- David Kaplan WTTG if you want to join me there.

Nati Abinet came to see this. We’re now told from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue that there are THREE people on board. We are also told these lines are still energized at this time. #Fox5DC twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

CLARIFICATION: Montgomery county has communicated at one point that there are 2 people on board. And at another point that there are 3. Working to confirm exact number. #Fox5DC

UPDATE: @FAANews confirms 2 people on board. The plane took off from White Planes, NY. It’s a single engine Mooney M20J. FAA and NTSB will investigate. #Fox5DC

I’m told it was initially 911 communicating with the pilot. Now there’s a command center up and there’s constant dialogue with the two people inside the plane right now. MoCo Fire and Rescue says main concern is that everything is energized. #Fox5DC

STATEMENT FROM PEPCO: 85k customers without power. Awaiting clearance to be able to get to the tower. #Fox5DC

Just an update from the ground here. Plane remains in the tower. Hundreds still watching from the ground. Waiting on an update from MoCo. #Fox5DC

UPDATE:

We're told to expect a news conference at 9 p.m.

#Fox5DC

Fog has rolled in here. Unclear what that may do to rescue efforts. We’ll be streaming this news conference on Fox5DC.com/live #StayAhead

Montgomery County Public Schools says they’re monitoring, too. #Fox5DC

UPDATE FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Operation is ongoing. Order of operations here- contractor for power company will come and ground the line to ensure safety for rescuers. Then, the plane will be attached to the tower before extracting the two people inside. #Fox5DC

We’re told another briefing will happen at 10. We will plan to bring that to you live when it happens. Stay with #Fox5DC

Maryland State Police identify the pilot as Patrick Merkle, 65 and Jan Williams, 66. Maryland State Police is lead investigative agency at the state level for plane crashes, MoCo Fire and Rescue says. #Fox5DC

Pepco reporting the number of outages has jumped to over 113,000 in Montgomery County. #Fox5DC

Plane still there. Just saw a specialized bucket truck go up and come down. Unclear where we are in the process, but the work continues. #Fox5DC

Montgomery County Public schools will be closed tomorrow. #Fox5DC

There’s the crane up near the plane. Hard to tell you for sure where the crane is and what’s happening from this vantage point. #Fox5DC

Here’s a look through our cameras viewfinder. Sure looks like crews are very close to the plane. Remember: process here was to fully de-energize the tower, then secure the plane to the tower, then extract passengers. #Fox5DC

Broader, public safety impact. If a stop light is out, treat it as a 4-way intersection. #Fox5DC

UPDATE: Montgomery County has confirmed the de-energizing is done. They’re ABOUT to finish securing the plane. Then they’ll go down, come back up and make the actual extraction. *ESTIMATE* is that they’ll extract around an hour. #Fox5DC

BREAKING: PILOT AND PASSENGER ARE OUT OF THE PLANE. Both have been loaded into ambulances. Here are some loved ones hugging after the female passenger was loaded in. Can tell you some onlookers applauded and thanked rescue teams. #Fox5DC

GOLDSTEIN: Electric grounding finished at 11:30. At 12:15 the plane was secured. First patient out 12:25. Second patient 12:36. Both taken to area trauma centers. Serious injuries. Planning meeting soon and come up with next plan for what happens now. #Fox5DC

I am off to bed. Follow @fox5melanie as she’s at the scene now and will have the latest developments all morning on #Fox5DC