Small plane crashes into row of townhomes in Fairview, igniting fire; also struck pole, causing power outage

TROUTDALE, Ore. (KGW/KTVZ) — A small plane crashed into a residential area near the Troutdale Airport Saturday morning, striking a power pole and then hitting a row of townhomes, setting multiple units ablaze, KGW reported.

The twin-engine Cessna 421C crashed at around 10:30 a.m. in Fairview, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Video shot by people at the scene showed at multiple units on fire in a row of townhomes, with debris strewn in front and visible flames in the upper story of one house and smoke billowing from a window of the other, with a large number of fire personnel responding.

There was a "somewhat large" debris field, according to Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer John Plock. There were two main crash areas because some pieces apparently began to break off after the plane hit the power pole.

The power pole was knocked over in the crash, Plock said, sparking a brush fire when the power lines landed in a nearby field, although the fire didn't spread far. The damage to the lines also caused a power outage; Portland General Electric confirmed that around 9,000 customers in the Fairview area had been impacted, and said PGE crews were onsite to assess the damage and determine a restoration timeline.

Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis said fire crews were first notified of the incident by staff at the Troutdale Airport control tower, who reported a column of smoke west of the airport. Arriving crews found heavy fire in the row of townhomes, initially involving two units but later spreading to impact four in total. 

The incident became a five-alarm fire, Lewis said, in part because the high temperatures on Saturday meant that fire personnel needed to frequently take breaks to avoid overheating. Portland Fire & Rescue and Vancouver Fire Department crews responded in addition to Gresham Fire Department crews.

The crash impact caused structural damage to the building, he added, so fire crews couldn't safely work inside the building as much as they'd normally be able to in a residential fire, and had to focus more on exterior operations with overhead water from a ladder truck. He said it wasn't clear if fuel from the plane helped feed the fire, but that the size of the smoke column in the initial reports suggested that it was possible.

A total of five families have been displaced, Lewis said, with the possibility of a sixth displaced family depending on the condition of their unit once fire crews assess it. Plock added that volunteers from the Trauma Intervention Program had responded to the site to help the people who were displaced.

Plock said there were injuries, but said he did not know how severe the injuries were, how many people were injured or whether there were any fatalities. Lewis said "initial reports" suggested there were two occupants on the plane, and that one of the townhome occupants was unaccounted for as of early Saturday afternoon, but did not say whether any of the people were injured or dead. Two people had been treated at the scene by AMR medics, he added.

The FAA will lead the investigation into the crash, and the agency said the National Transportation Safety Board would be involved as well. Lewis said Gresham Fire had spoken to the NTSB's Seattle office and was told the agency would be sending a team to the site.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.