Plane Crashes Into House Near Midway

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

An Aero Commander 500 cargo plane crashed into a house near Chicago's Midway International Airport shortly after taking off, killing the pilot.
The pilot had reported engine problems to air traffic control and was attempting to return to the airport.
An elderly couple sleeping in the house narrowly avoided injury, and no other ground injuries or fire occurred, though the house was badly damaged.

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An Aero Commander 500 crashed into a house about a quarter-mile from Midway International Airport in Chicago at 2:42 this morning, coming within eight inches of an elderly couple asleep in bed, who were unhurt, according to local news media reports. The pilot did not survive. The airplane was carrying cargo and had departed from Midway about 2:30 a.m. The pilot reported engine problems to ATC shortly afterward, and was trying to return to the airport when he went down, according to the FAA. The house was badly damaged, but there was no fire and nobody else was hurt.

The airplane is registered to Central Airlines, based in Fairway, Kansas. The flight was headed to Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, according to the FAA.