A small plane crashed in the parking lot of a Pennsylvania retirement community on Sunday, injuring five people and setting several cars as well as the aircraft itself on fire.
“I don’t know what played into it but it veered left,” Brian Pipkin, who was visiting the Brethen Village retirement community at the time of the crash, told Lancaster Online. “It just nosedived.”
He said he saw two people in the grass near the wreck with black marks on their bodies. Five people were on board, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Independent has contacted local fire and police departments for comment.
Footage of the scene appears to show the tail section of a small aircraft on fire alongside multiple flaming cars. Smoke was scene surrounding vehicles in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
Multiple medics and ambulances were on scene at the Lancaster County crash, which took place in the Lititz section of Manheim Township, near the Lancaster Airport, WGAL reports.
They were called around 3:15 p.m.
The crash and emergency response have shut down nearby Route 501, according to the broadcaster.
The aircraft is a Beechcraft A36TC, according to NBC News.
It requested to land shortly after taking off from Lancaster Airport with an open door, per the outlet.
Air traffic control directed the Beechcraft to turn around, and at one point said it couldn’t hear the radio traffic because of all the wind noise.
“Pull up,” a controller could be heard saying on air traffic control audio obtained by the outlet.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. The National Transportation Safety Board is also expected to provide additional information.
“Our team at [the Pennsylvania State Police] is on the ground assisting local first responders following the small private plane crash near Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township,” Governor Joseph Shapiro wrote on X. “All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues, and more information will be provided as it becomes available.”
The crash comes at a time of heightened scrutiny towards the U.S. air industry, following crashes including a mid-air collusion outside of Washington in February and a Delta flight that flipped over on the runway in Toronto later that month.
A medical evacuation plane operated by Mexico-based Jet Rescue Air Ambulance also crashed in Philadelphia last month.
The Trump administration has reportedly pushed to work with White House adviser Elon Musk’s company SpaceX to incorporate Starlink satellite internet technology into the U.S. air traffic control system.
