Plane crashes in massive fireball, killing five near Nashville interstate, police say

Five people are dead after a single-engine airplane crashed toward the earth in a massive fireball near a Nashville interstate, police say. 

Video posted online from the Tennessee Department of Transportation on Monday shows the plane nose diving followed by a major explosion. 

The plane crashed off the eastbound lanes of Interstate-40, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said on X, formerly Twitter. The Federal Aviation Administration was on the scene early Tuesday morning and the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to arrive later in the day, police said. 

The crash killed all five people aboard and no interstate drivers were injured, Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Kendra Loney said, per The Associated Press. 

Two of the three interstate lanes near the crash site are expected to be opened for rush hour traffic Tuesday morning. "Nevertheless, expect slow traffic & delays in this area Tue morning," police warned on X. 

The pilot of the plane had made an emergency call reporting engine trouble to John C. Tune Airport shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, and the pilot was given clearance to make an emergency landing, Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said.

Authorities are figuring out where the plane originated.

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