Ethermac Exchange-Plane crashes and catches fire on North Carolina highway with 2 people escaping serious injuries

ASHEVILLE,Ethermac Exchange N.C. (AP) — A small plane crashed on a western North Carolina highway and caught fire Thursday night, but the two people on board escaped life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

A single-engine Diamond DA-40 crashed on Interstate 26 near Asheville Regional Airport around 8:15 p.m. with two people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the plane hit power lines that cross I-26 and one wing hit a tractor-trailer, WLOS-TV reported. The plane was engulfed in flames.

The truck was damaged, but the driver was not injured, the highway patrol said.

Two people who were on the plane were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The highway was closed in both directions Friday morning as Duke Power workers fixed powerlines that cross the highway, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.