Plane crashes and catches fire on interstate in North Carolina

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WHNS/Gray News) - The North Carolina Department of Transportation said part of I-26 remains closed in both directions after a small plane crashed Thursday night.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that a Diamond DA-40 crashed along I-26 around 8:15 p.m. after declaring mayday due to engine failure.

Authorities said two people aboard the single-engine plane escaped serious injuries. They were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

A plane declared mayday before crashing on I-26 near Asheville, North Carolina.(Bryce Williams)

“Mayday, mayday, we’ve got oil pressure failure, it looks like, and two ECU failures,” the pilot can be heard saying in a recording of the communication with air traffic control. “We’re coming in.”

In the recording, the pilot then says the engine lost all power but they were able to get it restarted to half power a couple of minutes later.

“Just to let you know guys know, we’ve got our engine restarted,” the pilot said. “We just heard a big bang, though, so we may lose it again here.”

The remnants of a crashed plane are seen on Interstate 26 in Asheville, North Carolina, on Thursday.(Source: WLOS/CNN)

The plane was operated by Lift Training Academy and was being used for instruction, according to the FAA report. FlightAware’s tracker shows the lane traveled from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to Knoxville, Tennessee, on Thursday before the crash in Asheville.

LIFT Academy in a statement said “Our certificated flight instructor used their training and experience to land the aircraft without serious injury to themselves or any injury to persons on the ground. We are proud of the skill and composure our pilot and flight student demonstrated throughout the event and grateful to the first responders who attended to the scene to aid our pilots and secure the site. We have a team onsite assisting our pilots and the NTSB in its investigation.”

Both sides of I-26 were shut down for hours following the crash, heavily impacting traffic.

Around 11 a.m. Friday, state officials said all lanes had reopened except a portion of a right lane of I-26 West, which remains closed so crews can repair the pavement.

Copyright 2023 WHNS via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.