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 crashed, it careened 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.
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