PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Authorities have identified the two passengers found dead in a small plane that crashed through the roof of an Oregon home Tuesday night.
A number of people began calling 911 around 7 p.m. after they saw the small plan “spiraling toward the ground and crashing,” Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue said.
When firefighters arrived at the home in Newberg, they found the plane had crashed through the roof. Authorities also found three people inside the plane.
The two passengers who died at the scene were Barrett Bevacqua, 20, and Michele Cavallotti, 22, of Hillsboro, according to the Newberg-Dundee Police Department. Officials say Bevacqua was a student pilot, and Cavallotti was an instructor with the Hillsboro Aero Academy.
A third passenger, 20-year-old Emily Hurd, was airlifted to a nearby hospital with critical injuries. She’s reportedly a pilot in training as well. A social media post from a woman claiming to be Hurd’s mother stated that she was in surgery all night Tuesday with several broken bones and that the next few days are critical for her.
People were inside the home at the time of the crash, but officials said they all managed to escape safely. The Red Cross responded to help them with emergency shelter.
A single engine plane crashed into a house on Cedar Street in Newberg, October 3, 2023 (Courtesy: Kim Hickmon) 
A single engine plane crashed into a house on Cedar Street in Newberg, October 3, 2023 (Courtesy: Kim Hickmon) 
A single engine plane crashed into a house on Cedar Street in Newberg, October 3, 2023 (TVFR) 
A single engine plane crashed into a house on Cedar Street in Newberg, October 3, 2023 (TVFR)
It’s unclear what caused the crash, which is now being investigated by local police, the FAA and the NTSB. The structural stability of the house is also being assessed. Neither the airplane nor the home caught fire.
The plane that crashed is commonly known as a Piper Seminole, which has a fixed wing and is a twin-engine aircraft. A certified flight instructor told Nexstar’s KOIN that those are common airplanes for pilot training.
“We’re going to be looking at everything — flight training programs, experience of the pilots, what was going on with the flight track information,” said Eric Gutierrez, an air safety investigator. “I’m trying to not go down one specific thing. We try to gather as much data as we can going forward.”