FAA releases new details after plane heading to Springfield crashes in Pennsylvania

SPRINGFIELD — Five people were injured after a private plane headed to Springfield crashed in Pennsylvania on Sunday.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its preliminary findings on the crash on Monday.

TRENDING STORIES:

>>PHOTOS: Small plane headed to Springfield crashes in Pennsylvania

The pilot and four passengers were hospitalized with minor injuries, according to the FAA report.

“The fact that we have a plane crash where everybody survives and nobody on the ground is hurt is a wonderful thing,” Manheim Township Police Department Chief Duane Fisher said.

Flight records show the plane was supposed to land at Springfield Beckley Municipal Airport.

The City of Springfield owns and operates the public airport, but a city spokesperson said they have no information on why the people on board would have been visiting the area.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Inferno of fire and smoke;’ witnesses jump into action after plane heading to Springfield crashes

The report indicates that the crash was an “accident” and described the flight as “personal.”

News Center 7 found that the plane’s registered owner is a business in Manheim Township, Pennsylvania.

That’s the same community where the plane crashed shortly after taking off from the nearby airport.

The wreckage came to a rest just feet from a retirement community’s parking lot.

News Center 7′s John Bedell learned that two people have been released from the hospital. The other three are getting treatment at a burn center.

The business listed as the plane’s registered owner in FAA records is not registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State, which is the state’s agency that licenses businesses in Pennsylvania.

Brian Pipkin witnessed the crash in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and called 911.

“It was just an inferno of fire and smoke,” Pipkin said. “The fire was so hot, it was covering my face up. Things were popping. Part of the plane was falling and I was walking over it thinking to myself, ‘this is a very dangerous situation to be in.’ But I wanted to help.”

0 of 11