A plane crashed at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport this evening. As a result of the accident, the airport was closed and all landings and departures were halted for an hour and a half. Fortunately, the two people on the plane escaped alive.
An industrial park behind Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is where airplane enthusiast Dan Gilzu gathers every weekend.
“Some people go fishing, some people come here. They just come here to watch the planes,” Jilzu said.
Saturday's photo session was anything but ordinary. Around 6 p.m., he saw the 1981 General Aviation Beach Bonanza begin to stall.
“He just touched it once and he started porpoising. He kept going up and down, and then about the third time, when he was at about a 45-degree angle, he lost his gear,” Gilzu said. added. Jillzo said.
Gilzu said smoke started coming out as the plane hit the runway.
“I was just hoping that whoever was inside would come out safely,” Gilzu said. “That's all you care about. You want to make sure whoever's inside is safe and able to get out of there.”
On the other side of the runway, pilot Brent Lockerbie and his girlfriend Abigail Johnson were exiting the IX Center when lights started flashing.
“You could see a lot of fire trucks and stuff blowing up the runway,” Johnson said. “At first I thought it was training.”
Lockerbie added: “As a pilot, I always get nervous when I see situations like that and just hope everyone is safe.”
Fortunately, both passengers were able to get off the plane safely. Zirzou captured everything moment by moment.
“From the passenger side, I could see the pilot getting in and then getting out, so it looked like the pilot got out first,” Gilzu said.
The airfield was closed for an hour and a half and reopened around 7:30 p.m. as emergency crews worked to clean up the wreckage. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently investigating.
“I was very happy to see them leave,” Jirzu said. “I’m glad they made it because that thing came back so fast.”
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