Neighbors Still Displaced Six Months After Gaithersburg Plane Crash
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (WJZ) -- It has been six months since a deadly plane crash right in the middle of a Montgomery County neighborhood. Some homeowners impacted by the crash in are still out of their homes.
As Linh Bui reports, they say the worst part is they're not sure why.
People in the Gaithersburg neighborhood are frustrated. They have reached out to different agencies and representatives, but say they are not getting any answers.
"The house is kind of the same way it was on December 8th when the plane hit," said one resident.
When the plane hit the Gaithersburg neighborhood, it damaged three homes and killed six people, including a mother and her two children. Their home has since been leveled.
Their neighbor remains displaced, unsure if her property is safe.
"I've been told this is part of the data recorder and I guess these are other pieces that never got picked up. Nobody has come out to clean anything up yet. They've done some testing and found various levels of I guess petroleum, but haven't really reported back to us about where to go from there," the neighbor said.
The National Transportation Safety Board, who is leading the investigation, says they have finished with the properties, having gathered everything they need.
The Maryland Department of Environment says they took soil samples of the property. They concluded no contamination of significance and that no further clean-up was required.
But the neighbors say no one's telling them, and they're not quite convinced.
"My grandchildren live down the street, I also have my grandchildren. The creek right behind here, they love playing in that creek. Is it safe anymore? I don't know. We don't know," resident Joyce Buttrey said.
MDE adds whoever was responsible for the crash is responsible for cleaning it up, usually through their insurance provider, under MDE oversight.
In this case, it was the pilot.
"At this point, it's really who is going to take responsibility. And I've been passed around to several people to the point where I'm kind of throwing my hands up in the air," one resident said.
Residents also fear another plane could crash in their neighborhood. Montgomery County Airpark is only about three miles away and neighbors say planes often fly too low over houses.
The NTSB has not yet determined a cause for the December plane crash. Those investigations typically take about a year to complete.
