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 Midway International Airport in Chicago, killing the pilot.
The pilot reported engine problems shortly after taking off from Midway and was attempting to return to the airport when the crash occurred in the early morning.
An elderly couple sleeping in the badly damaged house narrowly escaped injury, with the plane landing within inches of their bed, and no fire resulted from the impact.

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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.