By Jonathan Samples | Bugle Staff
A small airplane crashed into a house in the 1800 block of Hampton Court near the border of Joliet and Plainfield late Thursday morning.
Witnesses described seeing a small aircraft circling overhead just before hearing a large explosion.
“It sounded like a missile,” said Kelly Marapiglia, who lives two blocks west of where the accident occurred. “Then, [the plane] just dropped and ‘boom,’ and I saw smoke.”
Authorities have not released any information regarding the identity of the pilot or whether anyone else was in the airplane, but did say that its occupant(s) are presumed deceased.
“There was obviously the pilot, but we have no idea if there were passengers in the plane,” Joliet City Manager Jim Hock told the Bugle. “Fire [personnel] are still on scene, and they’re working on the house [fire].”
It is not clear if anyone was in the home when the accident occurred, but reports indicate that the home’s occupants made it out safely.
The small plane appeared to have crashed in the street immediately south of the home, which suffered significant fire and structural damage.
“I walked over here right away and saw the debris in the street, and the house was engulfed in flames,” Marapiglia recalled.
The accident occurred in the Brighton Lakes subdivision, located less than a quarter-mile from the intersection of Theodore Street and Route 59. The explosion could be heard from as far away as 119th Street and Route 59 on the border of Plainfield and Naperville, and several witnesses near the crash reported that the blast caused their homes to shake.
Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton said utility companies have been called in to do an evaluation and determine if there are any gas or electrical concerns.
“It’s still very early on in the investigation, but we’re taking all the precautions possible and pushing everybody back out of the immediate area,” he said, just before another officer began asking onlookers and media to move back because of a gas leak.
Benton said the city’s police and fire departments will work with federal authorities on the investigation.
