Plane Crash Off State Road 404 Near Anthony Gap

New Mexico Highway 404 near the Anthony Gap is back open after being closed much of the day Wednesday after a single-engine plane crash. It happened around 11 a.m., New Mexico State Police said.

The aircraft belonged to the Texas State Parks and Wildlife Department, state police said.

On board was 43-year-old pilot Arron Smith, 48-year-old game warden Kenneth Zuber, and 29-year-old game warden Hallie Dacy. Miraculously, all survived, state police said.

?The difficulty was in gaining access to the crash scene and to make an assessment as to what kind of injuries we were dealing with and exactly what kind of a situation, what kind of terrain we’re dealing with,? New Mexico State Police Captain Rich Libicer said.

Sirens buzzed and helicopters flew overhead rural, mountainous terrain south of State Road 404 as the rescue mission for three people on-board the downed aircraft began.

Emergency crews from El Paso and Las Cruces did not know what to expect as they approached a white pile of rubble, state police said, but the scene, amazed them.

Smith and Zuber made it out of the crushed plane on their own, while Dacy remained trapped inside the fuselage, state police said.

Based on the location of where the plane crashed, it is truly unbelievable everyone made it out alive, state police said.

“I understand that they sustained some injuries but it does not appear at this time that they’re life-threatening or any kind of an injury that’s going to immobilize them,? Libicer said. ?The person that was caught and trapped and pinned inside the fuselage had to be extricated and therefore was stabilized and brought out on a stokes-litter-basket. It’s purely speculative at this point as to what may have happened with the aircraft but we’re fortunate in that this was a rescue mission and not a recovery mission.? Where the plane was traveling from or where it was headed remained unknown as of Wednesday evening. But a spokesperson for the El Paso International Airport told ABC-7 the aircraft made a brief pit-stop at the airport in the morning, but how long afterward it crashed, is unknown.

All three occupants were transported by ambulance to University Medical Center in El Paso.

State police and the Federal Aviation Administration are continuing the investigation.