Five Canadians, two adults and three children, died Monday when a small private plane crashed near a highway in Nashville, Tennessee, police said.
The victims “are Canadian citizens,” said Aaron McCarter, an investigator for the American commission responsible for aviation safety, while providing an update with the media Tuesday afternoon.
“Five people on board the plane died in the accident,” the Nashville Metropolitan Police previously announced in a message published on X (formerly Twitter).
Police also released a photo showing the damaged wreckage of the single-engine plane on an open space off the highway.
For its part, the Nashville Fire Department indicated on the same social network that a “violent fire” was in progress when its men arrived on site.
The plane’s pilot reported an engine and electrical failure around 7:40 p.m. (1:40 a.m. GMT), according to Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron, previously cited by American media.
It was authorized to make an emergency landing at John C. Tune Airport, but it crashed a few kilometers away, the spokesperson said, announcing the opening of an investigation.
