Engine failure leads to small plane crash on Kennesaw State’s campus
A small plane crashed on Kennesaw State University’s Kennesaw campus Thursday around 7 p.m., police confirmed.
The crash happened at the intersection of Bartow Avenue and Campus Loop Road, KSU’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) said in a tweet. The tweet also said there are no reports of damaged buildings or injuries to KSU students, faculty or staff.
Just want to advise everyone that there has been a small plane crash on the Kennesaw Campus at the intersection of Campus Loop Rd and Bartow Ave. Fire and police are on scene. We have no reports of any damage to KSU buildings or injuries to KSU students/faculty/staff
— KSU Emergency Management (@ksuoem) November 30, 2018
Two people were in the plane, and they were taken to an area hospital, OEM said in a later tweet. They were seen sitting up on their stretchers and were conscious.
Cobb County Fire told Channel 2 Action News engine failure led to the crash, and the passengers were on their way from Omaha, Neb., to Charlie Brown Field in Fulton County.
The two occupants of the plane have been transported to the hospital. Both were conscious, alert, and sitting up on the stretchers.
— KSU Emergency Management (@ksuoem) November 30, 2018
Video obtained by Channel 2 appears to show the plane crashed into a tree. A large parachute is believed to have deployed from the plane shortly before impact.
Abby Rodriguez, a KSU graduate student, captured video of one of the crash’s survivors waving his hand.
“I just thought it was a bridge that collapsed,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We went to the parking lot, and I thought it was an explosion.”
Another graduate student, Megan Allen, said it was a deafening boom.
“It almost sounded like I-75 was collapsing ... It was so loud it was hard to comprehend what happened,” Allen said.
Both patients extricated by @cobbcountyfire and transported to the hospital for treatment. The scene is being held for federal agencies to investigate. A portion of @KSUOwlNation campus may be affected and closed off. pic.twitter.com/HlmMFVaz7s
— Cobb County Police (@cobbpolice1) November 30, 2018
Tammy DeMel, Assistant Vice President of Communications at KSU, said the campus will be fully operational Friday.
Cobb County police said the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash, and a portion of campus may be closed as a result.
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Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
