Tragedy as pilot dies in plane crash after ensuring all 12 of his skydiving passengers jump to safety



Hero: Brandon Sparrow was killed in the crash after saving the 12 skydivers aboard his plane

A heroic pilot at the helm of a doomed plane full of skydivers made sure all of his passengers had jumped to safety before deftly crashing the aircraft in a backyard -- where no one was injured



Brandon Sparrow, the brave pilot, was the only one killed in the horrific crash in Taylorville, Illinois, on Saturday morning.



Neighbors and authorities say Mr Sparrow's efforts saved untold numbers of lives -- as the plane went down in a crowded residential neighborhood.



'It was either an act of God, or the pilot himself put the plane down in the back yard,' Mayor Greg Brotherton told the State Journal-Register upon visiting the crash site.



'We should be thankful because that plane could have hit a house and harmed others.'

As the plane began having experiencing problems, Mr Sparrow told his passengers to jump from the plane.



All 12 made it out to safety before the ill-fated craft went down.



When it crash, it careered into a backyard, flattening a dog house and tearing a gaping hole in the ground.

The property's owner, Jerry Dobyns Sr, told the newspaper he was lying in bed watching television at the time of the crash.

He heard a deafening boom as the plane came down into his back yard, that echoed across Taylorville, shocking residents and sparking terror.



Windows shattered and pictures fell from his walls.



It is unknown what caused the crash.



Fortunately his dog was inside with him at the time and his daughter, who had been in the back yard minutes earlier, had by chance gone indoors.



Debris was strewn across two to three blocks, some of it landing just feet from Dobyns' windows.

'If it was another 10 feet closer, it could have killed both of us,' he said, adding that he felt lucky to be alive.

Wreckage: Firefighters work to clear the plane and try to establish what happened

Narrow escape: The residents of this home are lucky to be alive

Many homes had to be evacuated as a clean-up operation got underway, with some people being told they would not be able to return to their houses until tomorrow.

30-year-old Sparrow was a longtime aviation enthusiast and aircraft mechanic, his family told KDSK .

He was struck by a truck while bicycling in Carbondale six years ago, and fell into a coma but despite lingering injuries, he was able to climb back into airplane cockpits.

It was his lifelong passion.



The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what caused the twin-engine Beechcraft 18 to fall from the sky but said an outcome isn't likely for some weeks.

The skydive event, organised by the Mid-America Sport Parachute Club, was scheduled to continue on Sunday but was cancelled in light of the tragedy.

No one from the club could be reached for comment.

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