Two young children, their mother and prominent doctor among 6 dead after suburban Maryland plane crash
By RYAN GORMAN
A mother on maternity leave and her two youngest children -- including a newborn -- are among six people confirmed dead after a small plane crash outside Washington, D.C. that left multiple homes damaged.
Marie Gemmell, her three-year-old son Cole and a six-week-old boy were killed when their home was hit by the plane at 10:44 a.m., according to local authorities and reports. The pilot, Michael Rosenberg, was also confirmed killed. The other victims have yet to be identified.
Gemmell and her children were initially unaccounted for but their bodies were eventually found inside the home, authorities said, providing her last name. She was first fully identified by WJLA.
Her husband and a six-year-old daughter survived, fire officials said. The couple appears to have been married only a few years ago, according to Geller's Facebook page. A pet dog that was in the home remains unaccounted for.
The couple were avid sports fans, according to social media posts showing them attending Denver Broncos games in Denver and at the 2006 World Cup, in Germany. They also appeared to regularly attend home games for the MLS team D.C. United.
Family told WJLA the pilot was Michael Rosenberg. The prominent doctor survived a separate plane crash four years ago at the same airport, according to the station.
The aircraft, reportedly an Embraer Phenom executive jet, crashed in rural Gaithersburg, Maryland, about one mile short of a nearby runway. The flight originated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
G'Burg plane crash has resulted in 6 fatalities, 3 on plane & 3 in house - news briefing shortly pic.twitter.com/bHKY8fW6aS
- Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) December 8, 2014
The first home hit by the twin-engine Phenom is directly in line with the runway at Montgomery County Airpark, according NTSB investigator Robert Sumwalt, who spoke at a Monday afternoon press conference.
The second home was struck directly and the third home, in which the dead mother and her children were in, was hit by a catapulting wing that burst into flames upon impact.
Dozens of firefighters were shown in local news footage battling multiple fires.
A local told WTOP the jet "crashed into a house, and the house was engulfed in flames."
The jet is registered to Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Sage Aviation, according to FlightAware. It was first registered in 2009, records showed.
Chopper footage showed a large plume of smoke rising from the scene an hour after the crash.
This is a developing story, more information will come as it is made available.