BC plane crash kills 2

Jace Radke

Monday, Aug. 13, 2001 | 10:31 a.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a plane crash near Boulder City that killed two people Sunday.

The crash happened about midnight Sunday when a Piper Chief 180 struck a power line and crashed in a desert area near the airport, Boulder City Police said.

The plane flew below the glide path, which is normally used by pilots attempting to land, and struck the line, police said.

Boulder City resident Al Navarra said he may have heard the plane as it descended toward the airport, which is near his home.

"We live about a mile from the crash site, and I was in my back yard when I heard a strange noise," Navarra said. "I could hear the motor, and then there would be an interruption, kind of like a lawn mower."

The plane caught fire after the crash, and the pilot and a passenger died at the scene, police said. The victims had not been identified this morning.

Power to Navarra's neighborhood, which is northeast of the airport near Georgia Avenue and Adams Boulevard, was out for about an hour.

Navarra drove to the crash site after hearing about it on the news.

"It looks like it flew right under one power line and hit another one," Navarra said.