Local officials say a small aircraft crashed in a parking lot in a retired community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, after the pilot reported that there was an air traffic transmission show after the pilot reported that there was an “open door.”
The aircraft, a six-seater Beech Crabangza, crashed outside the elderly community in Breece Village at 3:18pm after taking off from Lancaster Airport, Scott Little, the Mannheim Township Fire Rescue's fire chief, said at a press conference on Sunday.
All five people on the plane were taken to Lancaster General Hospital on Sunday, according to a spokesperson for Lancaster General Hospital. Two were then taken by an emergency squadron to the Burn Center at the Lehigh Valley Health Network, and one was taken there by ambulance. The two remain hospitalized for General Lancaster, the spokesman said.
No one on the ground was injured, officials said.
Duane Fisher, the police chief in Mannheim Township, said at a press conference that the aircraft appears to have slid down about 100 feet after it hit the ground. The building was not damaged, but about 12 vehicles were damaged.
The plane departed from Lancaster Airport and headed for Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in Springfield, Ohio, according to the Air Safety Network, which provides real-time information on airline accidents and safety.
According to voyage records, the pilot reported that there was a “open door” shortly after takeoff and that the plane needed “to return to landing.” The pilot reported that it was difficult to hear the controller due to the wind.
Social media videos showed the plane and nearby vehicles were engulfed in flames, with smoke swirling from the fire.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are under investigation.
