NASHVILLE (AP) — A small plane crashed near a YMCA in suburban Nashville on Monday night, killing everyone on board and damaging cars in the Y's parking lot, authorities said.
Authorities believe four members of the same family were on board the flight, which crashed near the Y in Bellevue, Nashville police said in a statement. They have not yet released the identities of the victims. The flight plan listed four people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said. No one on the ground was injured, Nashville fire department spokeswoman Kim Lawson said.
The plane was a Gulfstream 690C that departed from Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kan., at 2:45 p.m. and crashed 10 miles south of John C. Tune Airport in Nashville about 5 p.m. The flight was bound for John C. Tune Airport but missed its first approach and was preparing for a second one when the aircraft crashed, Nashville Police said.
Police said the plane hit trees on the right side of the YMCA before crashing into the ground. The wreckage and debris is said to have spread over an area of more than 80 yards.
Morgan MacGavin was studying in a Starbucks when the plane crashed, narrowly avoiding the Y's indoor swimming pool. She said people in the Starbucks ran outside to see a roaring fire and thick plumes of smoke.
"It looked like someone had poured gasoline on a bonfire," MacGavin said. "It was probably the largest fire I have ever seen in my life."
No one was injured inside the YMCA, said Jessica Fain, a spokeswoman for the YMCA of Middle Tennessee.
She said the center was evacuated. Fain had no idea how many people were inside the gym, but she said the crash occurred during what is normally a peak time at the gym.
The plane is registered to an agricultural company located just outside Great Bend. Federal investigators were en route to the scene.