Plane Crashes into Commercial Building in Austin, Texas

A small plane crashed into a commercial office building in northwest Austin, Texas, just before 10 a.m. on Feb. 18, creating a huge fireball and causing extensive damage to the structure.

According to various media reports nearly all the windows of the multi-story office building in the Echelon complex near the intersection of Loop 1 and north Research Blvd. were blown out.

The plane appears to have crashed into the second floor of the building, according to a spokesman from the Austin Fire Department, although he said that was only a “very preliminary” assessment.

Austin fire department officials said during a news briefing that two individuals have been transported to the hospital and one person is unaccounted for.

Power has been shut off to nearby areas so that fire fighters could enter the building and fight the fire “offensively,” the fire department spokesman said.

Windows and other debris were still being cast from the building around two hours after the crash. That is not unusual, the AFD spokesman said, as firefighters will continue to knock windows out as they attempt to fight the fire. “You will continue to see debris fall,” he said.

Both CNN and the Associated Press have reported that authorities believe the crash may have been intentional. Witness said the plane crashed into the building at a high rate of speed.

CNN has also reported that a house fire occurring earlier in the morning before the plane crash is being linked by federal officials to either the pilot of the plane that crashed into the building or a possible passenger in the plane.