LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA – A small Piper aircraft crashed in Lafayette on Saturday morning killing 5 people, including 30-year-old WDSU Sports Reporter Carley McCord. The aircraft hit a power line while trying to make an emergency landing, just a few minutes after departure from Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT). It crashed into a parking lot of a post office, KATC News reported. There was only one survivor of the six people on board. Three people on the ground were injured. The twin-engine Piper Cheyenne was on its way to one of the biggest college football games of the season, the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

One passenger could be rescued and taken to the hospital, but he is in a critical condition. Two people who were in the post office were taken to the hospital because of the smoke they had inhaled.

Households and businesses in the area lost power due to the crash. A nearby Walmart supermarket was evacuated.

Acadian Ambulance responded to the crash of a small civilian airplane in Lafayette (La) this morning and transported two patients to a local hospital. pic.twitter.com/f0SKqNJI7V

— Acadian Ambulance (@AcadianNews) December 28, 2019

The accident happened 1 mile west of the airport. Eyewitnesses told KATC News that the Piper hit a high-voltage power line when the aircraft wanted to make an emergency landing.

The cause of the crash has yet to be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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(Head image: KATC)