3 flyers killed after plane crashes into Minnesota home, sleeping residents spared by inches
HERMANTOWN, MINNESOTA: In a deadly and miraculous incident, a small airplane crashed into a northern Minnesota home while the occupants of the house were sleeping at night. Unfortunately, the crash resulted in the death of the three flyers on the plane. Two men and a woman, all in their 30s, were killed after the aircraft crashed into the Hermantown, Minnesota home, police said.
Duluth International Airport reported to the police that Cessna 172 had disappeared from radar shortly before midnight on October 1 and later, authorities were able to locate the wreckage after the small aircraft hit the second floor of a home. The occupants of the house reportedly said they were sleeping inches away from the crash and luckily were unharmed in the accident.
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A large hole was left in the roof and side of the building and the plane eventually crashed in the backyard of their home, according to The Sun. The victims were identified as Tyler Fretland, 32, and siblings Alyssa Schmidt, 32, and Matthew Schmidt, 31. Fretland was the pilot of the plane, reported officials. The residents of the home said they are shocked and are still coming to grips with the incident. “I don’t think we’ve come to grips with it just yet,” said homeowner Jason Hoffman. “It kind of comes and goes, a little bit of shock,” he added.
(Screenshot/Fox9 video)
Hoffman further said that the plane crashed into his backyard, missing him and his wife, who were sleeping, by a few inches. “Every time I think about the folks that passed away, it's gut-wrenching,” he said.
Hoffman soon found a flashlight and saw there was no roof left on the house and saw the aircraft parts around his bedroom.“I found a flashlight and as soon as I turned the flashlight on I realized there was no roof left on the house so that’s when we started seeing some airplane parts that were in our bedroom," he added.
“Thinking about all the ‘what if’ can drive you mad,” Hoffman added. “So, my wife and I, we just have to accept what happened, and we're fortunate.” Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the scene of the crash.
In another incident of an aircraft crash in Minnesota, a grieving son reportedly died during a memorial flight on August 28, 2022, while scattering his father's ashes from an amphibious "homemade" aircraft.
Authorities responded to a rural area just outside Emily, which is located roughly 150 miles north of Minneapolis. Lee Cemensky, 58 was a Las Vegas resident before he sold his 'Brakes Plus' auto repair business in February to return to his native Fifty Lakes, Minnesota. Cemensky and pilot Douglas A Johnson, 60, both died in the crash. Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are reportedly probing the crash.