Pilot tried to pull out of landing before plane crashed on N. Texas mall's doorstep, reports say

Thursday, November 23, 2023
PLANO, Texas -- A pilot who died when the small plane he was flying crashed and burned on the doorstep of a strip mall in Texas was aborting a landing, according to an incident report released Wednesday.

Plano police on Wednesday identified the pilot of the single-engine Mooney M20 as 87-year-old Elzie Monroe McDonald, of Arizona, The Dallas Morning News reported. McDonald was the only person on board when the plane crashed Tuesday.
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The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the crash. But a Federal Aviation Administration incident report says McDonald was pulling out of a landing before crashing.

Photos from the scene showed the wreckage in a parking space next to a nail salon and diner just outside of the shopping center in the Dallas suburb of Plano.
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The crash caused a parked car to catch fire. No one was inside the vehicle, and no bystanders were injured, authorities said.

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