this is "nightline". >> tonight, race to escape. >> there's a baby in there. >> the fiery runway wreck. new video of nascar legend dale earnhardt jr. with baby on board fleeing his burning plane after it bounced, skidded and burst into flames. the latest investigation in a scary summer in the skies. plus, mega-mansion marketing. if these walls could talk. >> i have put my own mark on the place. they'd sound just like michael douglas and say buy me. castles, palaces and villas for it's a buyer's market maybe there's a 15 million dollar steal? and, gift of friendship. the best birthday present for

one football fan. but first the nightline 5. number one in just sixty seconds.

>> good evening. thank you for joining us. dale earnhardt jr. knows all too well the risks and rewards on the race track. now he knows the life and death decisions on the runway.

tonight the investigation into his fiery plane crash and the miraculous escape. here's steve osunsami. >> eyewitnesses caught the terrifying moment on their cell phones. a small plane bouncing down the runway and then suddenly it's in flames. nascar legend dale earnhardt jr, his wife and their baby daughter. >> there's a baby in there. >> there seems to be an airplane that's crashed. >> the fireball swallows the plane's wing >> it's on fire. that is insane. >> witnesses call for help. >> it came out of the airfield through the fence and it is on fire. >> and then the plane's broken jetway pops open. the baby is one of the first to come out as everyone else runs for their lives. >> it's a daring and miraculous escape for the earnhardt family, the plane's two pilots and the family dog.

>> yeah, a dude just pulled a baby out of there. it's a private jet. >> everyone watching, holding their breath breathes a sigh of relief as the family makes it out with seconds to spare. >> there's a girl, there's one, there's a baby. there's a dog. ems personnel did put dale on a cot and take him to the hospital. >> dramatic video shows first responders racing to the scene. >> that fire is picking up, man. >> they're putting out flames that can be seen for miles. >> well, the first arriving unit found heavy flames coming from the fuselage of the plane and the occupants were exiting the plane at the time our first unit arrived, just before our first unit arrived. >> the 11-seat cessna citation is owned by earnhardt jr., and registered to his north carolina based company. it took off from statesville, north carolina thursday afternoon and landed in elizabethton, tennessee. then something went terribly wrong.

authorities say surveillance video knows the plane hitting the ground so hard the landing gear was destroyed. >> the airplane basically bounced at least twice before coming down hard on the right landing gear the airplane continued down the runway off to the end through a fence and it came to a stop behind me on the highway. >> they're telling us that the plane could be here for two days while investigators do their work. i don't know if you can see it but there's a fence that's wrapped around the body of the plane. that's the fence the plane crashed into when it skidded off the runway. >> so the real question from investigators will be why after the pilots knew that this landing was not going well on a perfectly nice day, they didn't just push the throttles up take off again come around and try the landing. was it mechanical failure or was it poor pilot judgment? >> the plane's voice data recorder is being sent to washington to be analyzed. the ntsb says they've talked to both the earnhardt family and the two pilots. earnhardt's sister kelley tweeted shortly after the crash, that "everyone is safe." >> the earnhadrt family was very

lucky that the airplane wasn't damage to the point where they couldn't open the doors. everything worked in their favor after the initial mishap. earnhardt's close call follows another stunning mid-air save that same day. >> perhaps even more miraculous was the russian crash outside of moscow. why? because here we had another sully sullenberger, an extremely rare event. all 233 people aboard this russian aircraft miraculously survived after being forced to land in a cornfield. the pilot descended seconds after taking off outside moscow when birds flew into both jet engines causing one to catch fire. this passenger video shows a seagull outside the window moments before the strike. >> the pilots made a quick decision. they said we can't fly but we do have a big corn field out in front of us. and so they kept the airplane flying and they brought here plane to a very soft landing inside this cornfield and everybody walked away without serious injury. extraordinary airmanship in a

very, very rare situation. >> 76 people, including 19 children, had minor injuries. the pilot is now being hailed a hero. >> the russian mishap could have been much worse. it had just taken off. so all of the fuel tanks were full. if that airplane had touched down on say a frozen cornfield where maybe there were stumps sticking up or rocks, it could ripped open the belly of that airplane, it could rip the engines off in a way that could have created a fire with lots of fuel in the airplane. it could have been a much, much different outcome. >> but yesterday's events highlight a summer of aviation accidents that began with two tragic float plane crashes in alaska, killing five passengers and a pilot. a month later in june, this skydiving plane crashed in hawaii. >> the beechcraft 65 king airplane went down shortly after takeoff. >> assist battalion 4 and battalion 5 with a downed aircraft near mokuleia beach park. >> killing all 10 men and one woman on board, making it the deadliest accident involving a civil airplane in the united states since 2011.

>> in my 40 years as a firefighter here in hawaii, this is the most tragic aircraft incident that we've had. >> this isn't the first time this plane has had trouble. this harrowing video from 2016 shows the plane packed with sky-divers. >> forced to bail out during the emergency. pieces of the plane falling off in midair. >> i saw something fall down from the plane. >> incredibly, no injuries were reported but the plane sustained substantial damage, according to the ntsb. after tail repairs, the plane was back in the air until it's fateful crash this summer, a wake up call for people looking to book trips on smaller aircrafts. >> the safest place you can be is on a commercial airliner. anytime you get on some other kind of an airplane whether it's a skydiving airplane, or an excursion helicopter, a charter business jet, or a private

aircraft, they are much, much more likely more dangerous many times. >> back in tennessee, investigators continue sifting through the wreckage. >> we're going to be releasing a preliminary report in about seven days. it will give basic factual information, we don't draw any conclusions at this time, this is a fact, this is the fact-finding phase only. >> these are some of the things they left behind in the rush, a child seat, and other signs of what should have been an enjoyable start to the weekend. earnhardt, who now works as a nbc sports analyst, was supposed to appear at a race this weekend. in a statement, nbc sports says he is taking the weekend off to be with his family. for earnhardt jr., the accident isn't his family's first brush with death. the third generation nascar driver comes from a family of daredevils. he's won 26 races including the daytona 500 twice. his legendary father, dale earnhardt sr., died in 2001 after crashing in the final lap of the daytona 500. earnhardt junior continued racing for years after his dad's death.

>> while semi-retired now, he was scheduled to return to the track for a race at the end of the month. the status of whether he'll compete now is unclear. in a statement, his spokesman thanked the public for their concern in the wake of the crash. >> i look at this and i'm like, someone walked away from that? >> it's hard to believe. it's hard to believe. >> the good lord was in charge on that flight. >> for "nightline," i'm steve osunsami in elizabethton, tennessee. >> our thanks to steve for that report. up next, the art behind selling some of the most expensive properties in the country. ♪ we switched our detergent to one that's clean. ♪ ♪ and if you make the switch you'll see what we mean. ♪ ♪ tide purclean, because it's made with plants. ♪ ♪ tide purclean, gets stains out his pants. ♪ ♪ tide purclean, it has nothing to hide. ♪ ♪ it's made with plants and ♪ ♪ has the cleaning strength of tide. ♪

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>> they say if you build it they will come. but in los angeles you might need some extra incentives in abgoezws there's an "art" to it. >> it's a wild night in beverly hills. music pumping on the dance floor. exoctic poolside performances. and -- an epic game of vintage-dress up. >> has a little bit of weight to it. look at that. see. >> what do you think? >> and see golden girl disco glam. i'm all about it. >> in a walk-in closet almost as big as my apartment. but this andy warhol-themed bash

isn't just for fun and it is a lot of fun. this event has one goal: sell this brand new 15.6 million dollar house. >> i think a wine and cheese open house is so like circa 1990. we never do that!/ in this market you really want to make your house stand out. you want to keep the buzz going. >> there is a building boom in los angeles mansion size. with multimillion dollar spec homes springing up all over la's poshest neighborhoods. right now there are 60 homes on the market that cost more than $20 million dollars. with so much supply, selling high end houses is getting competitive. >> is this what it takes to sell a mansion now? >> well, i don't consider this to be a mansion i consider this to be a luxury home but it certainly helps to go ahead and put this kind of effort and thought into the home and into the marketing of the home.

>> this has only been on the market for five or six hours. yes. >> yes. >> so if you havent just tried to put this on the market and see if the buyers come. why not tried that first before throwing a huge party like this? >> well, that's no fun. and you know and buyers have choices. and so we wanted to differentiate this house. >> differentiating is key with even more luxury homes on the horizon. >> i'd say in the $10 million to $20 million range you probably human being about 60 or so coming on in the next 18 months. and i would say -- >> wow. >> in the $20 million and up you probably have 30, maybe 40 coming on in the next 18 months. >> jason oppenheim and his identical twin brett are stars of the netflix reality show selling sunset. these los angeles real estate experts say the market is getting saturated with new construction. >> there's a surplus of -- of ultra-luxury homes.

the random developers that are building these 15,000 square foot apple stores and asking $40 million -- those aren't selling. and they shouldn't. >> that's the big difference now. i think it's quality. the -- there's-- to echo what he's saying: i think there is a lot of supply but there's not a lot of great supply. >> landing a buyer for the high end requires creativity. some agents are making professionally produced movies likes these. showcasing the life you could lead if you bought the house. celebrities are also getting in on the marketing game. michael douglas himself narrated this sales video for s'estaca. his 200 acre estate on the spanish island of majorca. >> over the past 30 years, i have put my own mark on the place.

>> but now he's ready to part with it for $32.5 million dollars. >> it's time for me to let someone else enjoy the privilege and the adventure of s'estaca. >> and if a celebrity salesperson doesn't entice you to buy. maybe one of the over-the-top amenities sellers are now offering will help seal the deal. this house in newport beach, california has a room to grow and smoke marijuana. what are some of the craziest things you have seen? >> i saw one home with an s and m room. >> other homes offer extravagant >> riding in style. >> jason takes us for a drive. >> so do you take all of your clients out in the rolls royce? >> to one of the properties they're selling. >> oh, we've arrived. >> that comes with all the bells and whistles, and then some. >> wow. wine cellar? >> yes, and curated with some of

the best wine in the world. and that wine comes with the house as well. >> this 5 bedroom, 9 bath, 40 plus million dollar dream home in the hollywood hills. >> this is the view that $40 million will get you, >> the house comes fully furnished complete with a 175 foot long pool. >> and this pool wraps around the entire house. >> its own spa. >> this is better than a hotel. you've got your dry sauna, your wet sauna. you go get your massage. and then you've got your cold plunge and your hot plunge, all looking over the city and space to park 12 cars that looks more like a museum. >> is azing.1 bathomrage. home in in bel air used to be the most expensive home for sale in the u.s. >> i think people realize they want to live in this beautiful environment. it's an absolutely spectacular way of life here. the house hit the market in

2017 for a whopping $250 million dollars. >> there was no budget. everything had to be absolutely the best. >> included with the house, $30 million worth of awesome cars, 7 full time staff, and a helicopter. two years later, the house is still for sale with a $100 million price cut. back at the andy warhol house they are pulling out all the stops to entice buyers. even throwing in five of the iconic artist's paintings. >> every piece has a story when it comes to warhol and that is what i love about andy warhol. >> and the only car he ever owned: this 1974 rolls royce. just going to go for a quick cruise i'll be back. >> you can get this house all the art and the car for a mere seventeen point seventy five million dollars. >> it's a bargain? >> it's a bargain but it sounds crazy to us in this luxury space

a lot of the homes we sell are bought with the furniture and the art. it's hard to go to galleries and amass your own collection. so this home comes turnkey. >> for those who can afford to live large, the party, so to speak, is far from over. and next, the best gift that anyone could ask for. when i was diagnosed with breast cancer, there was no hesitation, i went straight to ctca. after my mastectomy, it was maddening because i felt part of my identity was being taken away. when you're able to restore what cancer's taken away, you see that transformation firsthand knowing that she had options that she could choose, helped restore hope. my team made me feel like a whole person again. cancer treatment centers of america. appointments available now.

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>> finally tonight, true friendship. >> connor miller of cumming, georgia has cerebral palsy. connor is also a huge kansas city chiefs fan. so when he turned 19 years old this week. his buddies gave him the best gift ever. a football signed by several of the chiefs. >> no way! >> a sweet celebration for one fan and his unwavering band of brothers.

>> what a show of love. it was helen keller who said it is better to walk with a friend in the dark than alone in the light. >> that's nightline. you can always catch our full episodes on hulu. thanks for the company, america. have a great weekend.