The Sunday crash of a single-engine aircraft carrying five people provided remarkable footage of the plane catching fire after it hit the ground and was parked near a retirement community close to a small Pennsylvania airport; however, according to officials and witnesses, all of those who were on the plane survived.
According to police chief Duane Fisher, the incident occurred somewhat south of the Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township at around 3:00 PM. He said that the crash would be classified as serious but also indicated that five victims were taken to unknown hospitals. “Nobody on the ground got hurt,” the chief confirmed.
Brian Pipkin was in his vehicle nearby when he saw the small plane taking off, only to suddenly bank hard to the left.
“And then it went down nose first,” he told The Associated Press. “There was an immediate fireball.”
After calling 911, Pipkin drove to the site and took videos of black smoke erupting from the smoldering wreckage of the plane and several cars engulfed in flames in a parking lot of Brethren Village. He said the aircraft narrowly avoided colliding with a three-story structure in the sprawling retirement community located about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Philadelphia.
Within minutes a truck responded from the airport and other first responders followed.
“It was so smoky and it was so hot,” Pipkin said. “They were really struggling to get the fire out.”
The police chief stated that about a dozen parked cars were damaged and that residents of Brethren Village were temporarily asked to shelter in place as a precaution.
“I don’t know if I’d consider it a miracle, but the fact that we have a plane crash where everybody survives and nobody on the ground is hurt is a wonderful thing,” Fisher said.
The FAA confirmed five people were on board the Beechcraft Bonanza, the flight path, and destination were not disclosed following the crash.
The immediate condition of the five was not clear, and details were sparse on how they managed to survive the crash.
An audio transmission was recorded, presumably the pilot, stating that the aircraft “has an open door, we need to return for a landing.” An air traffic controller clears the plane for landing, saying “Pull up!” Moments after that, someone states that the plane is “down just behind the terminal in parking lot street area.”
The FAA will investigate.
As per the report, state police were assisting in the investigation at the scene, said Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. “All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues, and more information will be provided as it becomes available,” Shapiro posted on social media.
This crash comes roughly a month after an air ambulance went down on a busy street in Philadelphia, killing seven people.
The footage captures the scene where wreckage of the plane is burning amid dark smoke. The fire has been quenched now using “copious amounts of water” as told by Little.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate this incident, coming after January’s mid-air collision and sighting a spate of helicopter crashes in the country. In Philadelphia- all six passengers and one person on ground died when a medical evacuation jet crashed in the PE airspace on January 31.
Whilst, the National Transportation Safety Board told CNN it is also opening an investigation and will review the documentation and initial examination collected by FAA investigators at the crash site.
The pilot communicated with a traffic control officer, saying he was flying with an open door. The officer would tell him to “pull up” just before the crash.
Pennsylvania State Police-“on the ground assisting local first responders-” Penn Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a post in X. The governor added that, “all commonwealth resources are available as the response continues.”
The plane went down almost directly after it took off.
“It was very high at that point, but then it went kind of left, and all of the sudden it dove nose down and sideways and kept turning left,” Brian Pipkin said, recounted to CNN.
According to Pipkin, he rushed toward the parking lot of the retirement center when he saw flames engulf the cockpit of the plane.
“Then, it is burning hot as if you opened an oven set to 500 degrees and that first blaze hits your face,” he said.
“It was so hot,” he said. “I was getting even closer praying to God that nothing would explode.”
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