A plane crashed into some power lines in Montgomery County Sunday evening, causing widespread power outages.

Pete Piringer / Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service

Update 11/28 2:20 p.m.: The pilot of the Mooney Mark 20P single-engine plane that crashed in Montgomery County has been identified by state police as Patrick Merkle, 66, of Washington, D.C. Janet Williams, 66, of Marrero, Louisiana has been identified as the passenger. According to Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein, one individual remains hospitalized more than 12 hours after being rescued, but both of their conditions are improving.

“They’re banged up because they were in a crash, but they were okay,” Pete Piringer, the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Public Information Officer, said.

As of 1:30 p.m. Monday, emergency crews are remaining on the scene with the grounded plane while they wait for agents from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration who will be conducting an investigation into the crash.

The Washington Post has reported a D.C. man named Patrick Merkle — who would be the same age as Sunday’s plane crash survivor — previously survived a crash involving a plane he piloted in Utah in 1992.

The cause of Sunday’s crash has not yet been determined.

Update: The two people trapped inside a small plane that crashed into power lines in Montgomery County were rescued just after midnight Sunday, according to a news briefing by Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein. The pilot and passenger sustained serious injuries in the crash and were taken to a trauma center. The plane, which crashed into power lines in the Montgomery Village area around 5:30 p.m. Sunday evening, was suspended 100 feet in the air for hours as PEPCO crews and emergency personnel worked to safely reach the two people inside.

Emergency crews used a crane to remove the plane from the power lines and lower it to the ground between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Monday morning.

The crash caused widespread power outages across Montgomery County Sunday night. Power had been restored to all affected customers by 1:30 a.m., In PEPCO said in a tweet.

Montgomery County Schools had already closed schools Monday in anticipation of continued power outages. Montgomery College also closed Monday.

Original: Tens of thousands of households in Montgomery County are without power after a small private plane crashed into electrical wires in Montgomery Village.

According to PEPCO, roughly 120,000 customers across the county are experiencing outages. Many traffic lights and signals are also said to be without power. Montgomery County Public Schools and offices will be closed Monday due to widespread power outages.

The crash occurred at Rothbury Drive and Goshen Road around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, according to county officials. The pilot and a passenger were unable to exit the plane, remained suspended around 100 feet above ground in power lines as crews worked to get them out. The plane was headed to Montgomery Airpark for landing.

In a statement, PEPCO says it is “assessing damage and contingency opportunities to restore service to impacted customers.” The company says it is working closely with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services and is awaiting clearance before crews can begin work to stabilize the electric infrastructure and restore service.

During a press conference at 9 p.m., Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said in order to safely access and rescue the occupants of the plane, PEPCO and the contractor responsible for the tower need to do what’s called “grounding and bonding.” That involves placing cables onto the wires and connecting them to a ground source to address any static or residual electricity remaining in the wires. At that point it will be safe for emergency personnel to work to secure the plane to the tower before attempting to rescue the two people trapped in the plane. A large crane and bucket truck will be used in the operation. At publishing, not all of the equipment had arrived at the scene.

“There are resources from Montgomery County Fire Rescue, District of Columbia Fire Rescue, Montgomery County Police, and an assortment of other agencies here,” Goldstein said. “We are taking measured and risk-balanced steps to approach this activity. And we’ll be doing this in a manner which we will aim to extricate these two folks out of the plane.”

Metro’s Red Line has also been impacted. Metro is advising passengers to allow enough time if traveling between Shady Grove and Grosvenor-Strathmore or Glenmont to Silver Spring due to the power outages affecting Shady Grove station.

This story was corrected with the proper name of the Federal Aviation Administration.

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