10 Dead in N.J. Plane Collision

BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) â€” Ten people were killed Wednesday in a collision of two small planes over southern New Jersey, a federal official said. <br><br>Falling wreckage crashed into a house and

Wednesday, August 9th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) â€” Ten people were killed Wednesday in a collision of two small planes over southern New Jersey, a federal official said.

Falling wreckage crashed into a house and set the building on fire.

Eight of those killed were aboard a Piper Navajo that took off from Lakehurst Naval Air Station, said Arlene Salac, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Two people died on the second plane, a Piper Seminole from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, she said. That plane included a flight instructor and a student, Salac said.

Resident Antoinette Carnivale said she saw the planes collide.

``I saw smoke and flames and pieces coming down,'' she said.

Mary Miles, who lives in the same development as the house that was hit, heard the crash but didn't realize what it was.

``I thought it was thunder, and then I turned on the television and saw it was actually a plane crash,'' she said.

The couple who lived in the house that was struck escaped unharmed.

There was no immediate word if anyone on the ground was injured.

Fire extensively damaged the two-story, brick-front house, in a suburban development about 10 miles south of Trenton.

Homeowner Ed Trzaskawka said he was getting ready for work when the plane hit the area of his garage.

``Another few feet and it would have been in my ear,'' Trzaskawka said. He said he and wife Cathy ran out the back of the house.

``I grabbed the dog,'' Trzaskawka said.

An airplane tail section landed in a field several hundred yards form homes and what appeared to be a piece of a wing fell on the roof of a home.

The Piper Navajo was registered to Tigress Aviation, Inc. of California, Md., according to FAA spokesman John Clabes. FAA records show no accidents or incidents involving that plane, Clabes said.

``It's a very popular airplane,'' Clabes said.