Four occupants on board a single-engine Cessna airplane perished Sunday morning after crashing in Charlotte. The impact and debris impacted the back yards of three homes in a neighborhood about 2 miles east of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Despite the severity of the incident no one on the ground was injured.

The Cessna Model TR 182 was based in Shelby, NC and was on a return flight from Manteo in eastern North Carolina. The control tower at Charlotte-Douglas notified airport firefighter's of a possible plane down at 11:24 a.m. Within minutes of the dispatch, Charlotte Firefighters and police responding arrived in the residential neighborhood to find a horrific site where the aircraft broke apart after hitting trees then coming to rest in the back yard of a home on Carlyle Dr.

Working under the unified command structure, the Charlotte Fire Department and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department canvassed a two block area to secure the crash site and check on the welfare of the occupants of those homes impacted by the crash.

The investigation over the next two days by the NTSB and FAA also involved staff from the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiners office as well as the American Red Cross who were on scene to assist in various tasks.

Late Monday evening the NTSB and FAA were able to complete the on-scene recovery and removal of the crash debris where they were taken to a secure site for further evaluation.