HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — On Wednesday, a small plane crashed on the front lawn of a home in a residential area near Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs.
Officer First Class Omar Cervantes with the Hot Springs Police Department said the emergency landing happened near Oakwood and Bell around 2:45 p.m.
The two women piloting the plane sustained minor injuries in the accident.
Linda Smith, who lives across the street from where the plane crashed, ran outside to help the two women after seeing the aircraft in flames.
"Oh, my God, it sounded like an atomic bomb," Smith said. "I had to run back in the house and get towels for the girls, but they came out of it OK. Both of them pulled themselves out of that plane. God was with them."
According to Hot Springs City Manager Bill Burrough, the plane, a single-engine Piper Cherokee, flew out of Hot Springs Memorial Field, but lost power and fuel pressure about 26 minutes after takeoff. The pilots attempted to land in the Oaklawn infield before crashing into a vacant lot.
Flight Aware records show the plane crashed in its second flight of the day.
The Hot Springs airport confirmed that the Piper Cherokee plane's tail number matched the one on the Lord Aviation website, a company based in Hot Springs.
The Federal Aviation Administration surveyed the crash site, and Hot Springs airport officials expect the standard investigation to continue through tomorrow.
We reached out to Lord Aviation, but they declined to comment.
We will update this story with more information as it becomes available.
