Michele Cavallotti and Barrett Bevacqua killed and third person seriously injured when plane loses control and crashes into Portland, Oregon home. Flying instructor and student killed, Emily Hurd in critical condition.
What went wrong? A young flying instructor and his student were killed when their small plane spiraled out of control and crashed into a house in Oregon, leaving the aircraft’s third occupant seriously hurt in hospital.
Instructor, Michele Cavallotti, 22, and student pilot Barrett Bevacqua, 20, were killed on impact when the aircraft dropped from the sky and smashed through the roof of a house in Newberg at around 7pm on Tuesday.
The plane’s third occupant, Emily Hurd, 20, was airlifted to a Portland trauma hospital where she was treated for serious injuries. Residents inside the house miraculously escaped unscathed.
House occupants miraculously survive unscathed
Cavallotti was an instructor with the Hillsboro Aero Academy and Bevacqua and Hurd were student pilots at the Horizon Air Ascend Pilot Academy. All three of them were from Hillsboro, Oregon and were all roommates.
Multiple residents called 911 and recorded the plane at is spiraled toward the ground and crashed near North Cedar Street.
Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue said they were able to retrieve a passenger who had died along with another who was injured.
On further search of the plane, they found a third passenger who was also dead.
At first, firefighters believed that the house was empty but on further inspection, discovered that there were multiple people in the house and all of them had managed to successfully evacuate.
The Red Cross was present at the scene to provide assistance to the family displaced from the residence. The aircraft did not catch fire after the crash and responders were able to maintain the home’s structural integrity.
Who was flying and what went wrong?
Hurd suffered lung trauma, sternal and rib fractures, pelvic fractures and a brain bruise as a result of the crash.
Bevacqua’s parents, Matt and Haley plan to hold a public memorial for Barrett on October 8 at his old school, Lakeridge High School’s football field.
He started with Alaska Airlines’ training program in March to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a pilot.
Matt told KATU2: ‘He told them he was going to be the fastest to complete the training and the youngest commercial pilot they had, and a week ago he passed his test and received his commercial license.’
‘Living in an apartment with close friends, cooking all the time, and flying all day, every day. That’s really all he dreamed of, he was doing everything he had wanted to do,’ Haley said.
Cavallotti’s family has yet not made a statement on his death.
It is unclear which of the three was flying the plane.
The Newberg-Dundee Police Department, Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have launched a joint investigation into the crash.
