Plane crash in Pennsylvania retirement community parking lot leaves five people injured
A small plane crashed into the parking lot of a retirement community is cordoned off with police tape in Lititz, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 9.
A private plane crashed this Sunday in the parking lot of a retirement home located in southern Pennsylvania. The incident occurred around 3:00 p.m. local time, outside Lancaster Airport, in the municipality of Manheim, according to local police, who could not provide immediate information on fatalities or injuries.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that there were five people on the plane, a Beechcraft Bonanza, when it went down.
Images shared on social media showed black smoke rising from the wreckage of the plane and several vehicles engulfed in flames. The area's Fire Chief, Scott Little, said in a press conference that the five passengers on board were taken to local hospitals.
Plane crash in Pennsylvania retirement community
The small plane had departed from Lancaster Airport, located north of the crash site, and was bound for Springfield, in the state of Ohio. Emergency crews rushed to the scene, where several ambulances were deployed. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on his X account that State Police were “on the ground assisting local first responders following the crash of a small private plane near Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township.”
Emergency services indicated that the small plane, identified with the registration number N347M, reported taking off from Lancaster Airport. However, a few moments after takeoff, all contact was lost, until the fall was reported in the Manheim area.
Five people injured in plane crash
Some versions indicate that the pilot of the small plane would have reported problems closing the door at the time of takeoff, so he requested an emergency landing. However, this information has not been confirmed by the authorities, so investigations will continue. When the aircraft hit the ground, it caused a strong fire, which consumed some vehicles that were parked.
An eyewitness, identified as Brian Pipkin, said that the plane began to lose stability shortly after takeoff. According to its description, the aircraft initially climbed, but then turned to the left and collapsed sideways until it hit the ground. He ran to the parking lot of the retirement center, where he saw how the cabin of the plane was engulfed in flames.
Several crashes reported in the U.S.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it will investigate the causes of the accident. This episode joins a series of recent air safety incidences in the United States. National Transportation Safety Board investigators are probing several crashes in recent weeks:
- The midair collision of a passenger jet and U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., in January that killed 67 people.
- A medical jet crash in Philadelphia that killed seven people in January.
- A plane crash in Alaska that killed 10 people in February.