The crew that jumped to safety before their small plane crashed into a Gilbert home is part of the Arizona Skyhawks Parachute Team.
The Cesna crashed into a home near Ray and Gilbert roads Saturday night.
The pilot is now recovering from second and third degree burns, according to Capt. Gary Hildebrandt with the Gilbert Fire Department.
The two people inside the home where the plane crashed were not hurt.
Neither were the four skydivers who parachuted from the plane and landed in a field at the Town of Gilbert's Constitution Fair, where the crew was scheduled to perform.
The crew has performed for the Constitution Fair for several years, according to Dwayne Farnsworth, Constitution Week president. The Arizona Skyhawks Parachute Team has also performed in several local events, including the Cactus Bowl.
"They’ve been coming every year with a lot of fanfare and a lot of success and it’s just unfortunate," Farnsworth said.
Farnsworth witnessed them landing, not knowing anything was wrong.
“They came in just like normal. All four of the skydivers came in, they landed safely, but there was a little bit of an excitement. It was different, and I wasn’t sure what that was," Farnsworth said.
What looked like a ball of fire in the air, witnessed by many who sent viewer videos and pictures to ABC15, was a pilot and his crew in trouble—forcing him and the skydivers to jump from their plane early.
“He [ pilot ] made communication with his communications and just identified that his wing was on fire, and he was having aircraft issues," Hildebrandt said.
While the skydivers landed where they originally planned, the pilot landed in a field about a half mile away from where the plane crashed.
“This is the first that we’ve ever seen this in Gilbert, to my knowledge," Hildebrandt said.
The NTSB is now investigating what caused the fire on the plane and what ultimately led to the crash.
