DALLAS (AP) -- A small airplane crashed into a residential area Thursday shortly after takeoff, setting two houses afire and killing both people in the plane, officials said. The disabled resident of one house was rescued by his caregiver.
The cause of the crash hadn't been determined, but the weather was rainy and foggy and the pilot reported having problems after takeoff.
The single-engine 1975 Bellanca, a popular private plane made largely of fabric and wood, crashed about 10:10 a.m., said Roland Herwig, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. It had just taken off from Addison Airport and was bound for Amarillo.
The plane crashed into a vacant corner house, then skidded across the street, where most of the aircraft ended up in the garage of a second home, said Deputy Fire Chief Lester Mount.
Neighbors said the second house belonged to Bud Thompson, a physician who uses a wheelchair and was rescued by his caretaker, Elnora Denmark.
``I just heard a big crash and I thought it was a bomb,'' a teary-eyed Denmark told reporters. ``And I thought, 'Just come back to myself,' because it almost knocked me out.''
Matt Sousa, who lives a block away, ran to the scene and found Denmark, who said she needed to get something and ran back into the blazing house.
``I kept screaming at her to get out,'' said Sousa, 34. ``Then she came out and she had the little man in her arms.''
Firefighters said neither Thompson nor Denmark was hurt.
``She was rattled, but she was steadfast in what she was doing,'' Sousa said.
Denmark said she wasn't a hero and credited God for giving her the strength to carry Thompson.
The pilot has been identified as Dr. David Knowles of Bullard, said Alex Lemishko, investigator-in-charge for the National Transportation Safety Board. His passenger was identified as David Moore, 55, of Jacksonville, Texas.
Foggy conditions prompted Knowles to file an instrument flight plan as required by aviation officials. Minutes later, the pilot radioed flight communications and said, ``I lost my panel.''
``Whether he was having problems seeing his panel or problems with an instrument, I don't know,'' Lemishko said.
The fog had limited visibility to about 500 feet, said Greg McClane, a private pilot who went to the crash site.
Terry Mitchell, Dallas' assistant director of aviation, said only instrument-qualified pilots were permitted to fly Thursday. Lemishko said Knowles was instrument-qualified.
Knowles had been the medical director at Sundown Ranch, an East Texas substance abuse treatment center, for about 17 years, said Robert Power, the center's founder. Knowles also had a private practice in the Tyler area.
``Dr. Knowles was a mild, very good-natured person,'' Power said. He also loved to fly, and often flew the 30 or 40 miles from his home to the Canton treatment center even though it would have been an easy drive, Power added.
The crash site is about three miles south of the airport in a north Dallas neighborhood.
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