Many people watched in horror as a small plane crashed just yards away from Harrison High School's football stadium Friday night where a scrimmage between McNicholas High School and Harrison was underway.
Since it was halftime, many fans saw the red and white bi-plane take off from the airport across the field from the visitors’ bleachers. Witnesses say the plane took off, but didn't gain much elevation before the plane nearly hit the Harrison transportation department's bus lot.
Eyewitnesses say it appeared the pilot attempted to take action to guide the plane away from the football stadium.
One parent from McNicholas High School was in the bleachers and snapped a series of photographs that show the plane in a nose dive. The last photo shows the plane moments before impact.
Witnesses say a Harrison fire truck and ambulance were already at the football field when the plane went down and those first responders were at the scene in minutes.
Erin Brogan saw the crash and says, "People sprinted to the scene, other people had tears in their eyes."
Sandra Nicoloff's grandson was one of those who tried to help.
Nicoloff said, "(My grandson) got over there pretty quickly after it went down and he looked inside and said it looked pretty serious".
Before the second half started, Brogan said the players went down on one knee and said a prayer.
