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Pepco to begin repairs on Gaithersburg tower, lines damaged by plane crash
Public Safety & Justice
Pepco to begin repairs on Gaithersburg tower, lines damaged by plane crash
Small plane had struck Nov. 27 near Gaithersburg airpark; pilot, passenger were stuck for hours
by Ginny Bixby
15 hours ago
Gaithersburg plane crash. Credit: Pete Piringer, MCFRS spokesperson.
Pepco will begin repairs Monday on its transmission tower and damaged overhead lines on an adjacent tower line near the Gaithersburg Airpark. The tower and lines were damaged when a small plane crashed into a large tower Nov. 27, injuring two and resulting in thousands of residents in the Gaithersburg area and other parts of the county losing power, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service officials said.
Line repairs are scheduled to take place through Jan. 27, according to a news release from Pepco. Pepco will begin by replacing the overhead lines that were damaged, with work located on Pepco’s right-of-way between Montgomery Village Avenue and Fulks Farm Road in Montgomery Village and Gaithersburg. A helicopter will be used for some of the project.
Then, Pepco will replace the upper half of the transmission tower that was damaged. This work is scheduled to run Jan. 28 through Feb. 8 on Pepco’s right-of-way next to Goshen Road in Gaithersburg.
During the crash, the plane struck a tower connected to high-voltage power lines around Rothbury Drive and Goshen Road in the Montgomery Village area of Gaithersburg, according to Pete Piringer, the MCFRS’s spokesperson. ... Two people were trapped on the plane – pilot Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington, D.C., and passenger Jan Williams, 66, of Louisiana. Both survived the crash. A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board investigation pointed to pilot error.
Pepco to begin repairs on Gaithersburg tower, lines damaged by plane crash
Small plane had struck Nov. 27 near Gaithersburg airpark; pilot, passenger were stuck for hours
by Ginny Bixby
15 hours ago
Gaithersburg plane crash. Credit: Pete Piringer, MCFRS spokesperson.
Pepco will begin repairs Monday on its transmission tower and damaged overhead lines on an adjacent tower line near the Gaithersburg Airpark. The tower and lines were damaged when a small plane crashed into a large tower Nov. 27, injuring two and resulting in thousands of residents in the Gaithersburg area and other parts of the county losing power, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service officials said.
Line repairs are scheduled to take place through Jan. 27, according to a news release from Pepco. Pepco will begin by replacing the overhead lines that were damaged, with work located on Pepco’s right-of-way between Montgomery Village Avenue and Fulks Farm Road in Montgomery Village and Gaithersburg. A helicopter will be used for some of the project.
Then, Pepco will replace the upper half of the transmission tower that was damaged. This work is scheduled to run Jan. 28 through Feb. 8 on Pepco’s right-of-way next to Goshen Road in Gaithersburg.
During the crash, the plane struck a tower connected to high-voltage power lines around Rothbury Drive and Goshen Road in the Montgomery Village area of Gaithersburg, according to Pete Piringer, the MCFRS’s spokesperson. ... Two people were trapped on the plane – pilot Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington, D.C., and passenger Jan Williams, 66, of Louisiana. Both survived the crash. A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board investigation pointed to pilot error.