Three killed after small plane crashes into houses in Oregon

Three people are dead after a small plane crashed into a row of townhouses in the US state of Oregon on Saturday.

The plane, a twin-engine Cessna, was carrying two people on board, local authorities said. Both of them were killed, along with a resident of one of the homes the plane crashed into.

Multiple units were set ablaze as a result of the crash, displacing a number of families and injuring others, authorities said.

The crash happened in Fairview, around 11 miles (17 kilometres) east of Portland, near the Troutdale Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is now investigating the incident along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

The crash happened around 10:30 PST (17:30 GMT) on Saturday, officials with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office told reporters on Saturday.

“At some point during the crash, (the plane) hit a power pole or tower, causing it to fall over,” Deputy Sheriff John Plock said.

He added that the plane later “crashed into a building of town homes and that structure also caught fire.”

Authorities initially said two people aboard the aircraft were missing, plus one resident of the homes that caught fire. On Sunday, the Gresham Fire Department confirmed all three were killed.

The identities of the victims have not been released. An unspecified number of people were also injured, authorities said.

Videos of the crash show a fiery blaze and smoke plumes rising from a row of homes. Fire Chief Lewis told reporters that the fire had spread to at least four houses and at least five families had been displaced.

Donni Calvert, a witness, told local ABC affiliate KATU TV that he heard the plane descending. “Then the next thing I know there are explosions,” Mr Calvert said.

A separate brush fire ignited from collapsed power poles nearby, authorities said, but it did not spread far. The damage also caused a brief power outage in the area.