3 Killed As Plane Crashes Into Minnesota Home; Residents Miraculously Escape

A small plane has crashed into a Minnesota home, killing all three people on board.

The Cessna 172 airplane carrying three people, including two siblings and a pilot, smashed into the second floor of a home in Hermantown, just south of Duluth International Airport in St. Louis County, on Saturday night.

Alyssa Schmidt, her brother Matthew Schmidt and pilot Tyler Fretland died in the crash. Alyssa was a second-grade teacher at an elementary school in Burnsville, local TV station KSTP reported.

Two residents of the small brick house have miraculously escaped. The duo, Jason and Crystal Hoffman, were on the second floor of the building at the time. They did not suffer any injuries, Hermantown Communications Director Joe Wicklund noted.

"The airplane hit the second floor of a home before coming to rest in the backyard of the property. The two occupants of the home were not injured," Hermantown authorities said in a news release Sunday.

Jason and his wife were asleep when the plane tore through the roof above their bed.

"We couldn't see each other through all the insulation dust. I was able to grab a flashlight next to the bed and the first thing I saw was an airplane wheel sitting at the end of our bed," Jason told Minnesota Public Radio. "That's when we looked out and noticed the entire back half of our house was gone."

He noticed the furnace had exploded.

"I'm still not sure what to think. It doesn't seem real, at all. We're just lucky. The loss of life is heartbreaking. At the same time, we're grateful for making it through this," he added.

The crash left a massive hole on the home's roof and damaged vehicles parked on the yard, CNN-affiliated KBJR reported. Jason found some wreckage of the plane on his truck and in the garage.

The couple also found their cat unhinged in the basement. Neighbors helped them move out as the power lines to the home were damaged.

The exact reason for the crash remains unclear. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the incident, authorities added.