LANCASTER, Penn. — A single-engine airplane with five people on board crashed and burst into flames in the parking lot of a retirement community near a small airport in suburban Pennsylvania, officials and witnesses said.
News Center 7′s Malik Patterson is in Springfield, where the plane was supposed to land, speaking with the community about the crash LIVE on News Center 7 at 11.
The fiery crash happened around 3 p.m. just south of Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township, according to police, who could not immediately provide information on fatalities or injuries.
According to FlightAware, the plane was headed to Springfield, Ohio.
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Brian Pipkin was driving nearby when he noticed the plane climbing before it suddenly veered to the left.
“And then it went down nose first,” he told The Associated Press. “There was an immediate fireball.”
Pipkin called 911 and then drove to the crash site, where he recorded video of black smoke billowing from the plane’s mangled wreckage and multiple cars engulfed in flames in the parking lot of Brethren Village. He said the plane narrowly missed hitting a three-story building at the sprawling retirement community about 75 miles (120 km) west of Philadelphia.
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A fire truck from the airport arrived within moments, and more first responders followed quickly.
“It was so smoky and it was so hot,” Pipkin said. “They were really struggling to get the fire out.”
A dozen parked cars were damaged and Brethren Village residents were briefly asked to shelter in place as a precaution, Fisher said.
“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,” the police chief added.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed there were five people aboard the Beechcraft Bonanza.
Air traffic control audio captured someone on the plane reporting that an aircraft door was open and requesting a landing at the airport. An air traffic controller is heard clearing the plane to land, before saying, “Pull up!” Moments later, someone can be heard saying the aircraft was down.
The FAA said it will investigate.
The crash comes about a month after seven people were killed when an air ambulance burst into flames after crashing onto a busy Philadelphia street.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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