Operations & Training

Small Plane Crash Sets NJ Homes on Fire

Oct. 29, 2019

Firefighters from all nine firehouses in Woodbridge responded to the crash involving a Cessna 414A that went down in a residential neighborhood Tuesday.

By Jenna Wise

Source NJ Advance Media Group, Edison, N.J.

Firefighters respond to a fire caused by a twin-engine plane crash into a residential area in Woodbridge, NJ, on Tuesday.

A twin-engine plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in Woodbridge on Tuesday setting multiple houses on fire, officials said.

The Cessna 414A crashed into a home on Berkley Avenue in the Colonia section of the town around 11 a.m., FAA officials said. The FAA is headed to the scene to begin the investigation.

“The house shook, I thought I heard a tree hit my house,” said Lou Grasso, who lives around the block from the scene. He said it sounded like an explosion.

The Colonia Fire Department confirmed the plane went down but said it didn’t have additional information to provide.

It was unclear how many people were on board the Cessna 414A. The plane can hold up to 8 people, including pilots.

Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac said there were no injuries to people on the ground and no one was home at the house that was struck by the plane. McCormac said the plane appears to have originated in Virginia and there were no passengers.

“The home suffered some damage,” McCormac said “So right now, we don’t believe any civilians on the ground were impacted by the crash. Although the pilot — who knows. Nobody knows for sure yet. Nobody’s gotten close to the plane. Miracles can happen.”

A check of flight records showed a Cessna 414A departed from Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia at 9:50 a.m. and was bound for Linden Airport with an expected landing at 10:58 a.m. That plane was manufactured in 1980 and owned by a Delaware-based company called Warbird Associates, according to the FAA.

The crash site is about 4 miles from Linden Airport.

“The plane is in the back of the house," McCormac said. "You can’t see the plane from the street. It’s still apparently lodged in the house. The lady next door got out safely.”

Firefighters from all nine firehouses in Woodbridge responded to the blaze, according to the mayor.

The National Transportation Safety Board also will investigate and will determine probable cause of the accident.

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