(WXYZ) — A community is in mourning after a plane crashed into a home in Lyon Twp., killing the family of three on the flight.
Related: Family killed in Lyon Township plane crash identified
Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies have been preserving the scene and the plane is about to be moved to a secure location for further investigation.
The pilot behind the single-engine Piper was 60-year-old David Compo, who owned a successful building company and was an experienced pilot, according to friends. He was returning from a trip to Georgia with his wife, Michele, and his 18-year-old son Dawson, a student at Michigan State University.
The NTSB says he was cleared for an approach to land at the airport in New Hudson, but something went horribly wrong and the plane crashed into a nearby home.
"We’re just sitting in the living room trying to figure out what movie to watch, and all of a sudden, we hear this loud explosion; it felt like a bomb," said Pride Mudzwova, who lives in the home.
Pride and Danielle Mudzwova grabbed their kids, ages 2 and 4, and ran outside, confused and stunned as flames engulfed their home
"That’s when I realized, 'oh, it’s a plane sticking out of my house,'" said Pride.
They escaped with no injury, happy to be alive but heartbroken to learn that the family inside the plane did not survive.
"By some miracle, we were all together in the living room," said Danielle. "And I’m just in shock, I’m still trying to process it and I’m so heartbroken for the people that were lost in the plane...I don't know how we're so lucky."
It could take up to 18 months before we know the cause of the crash.
