Five people on a small plane crashed into a residential area in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on Sunday, crashing into a small plane, authorities said.
The 5-person requirement was not available. Mannheim Township Fire Chief Scott Little said at a press conference that no one on the ground was injured, but five vehicles were damaged.
He did not provide any details about the injury to those on board. The plane just took off when Lancaster Airport dropped in the retirement community in the brothers’ village.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the plane was a Beech Crownazza, with five people on board.
According to the FAA, the popular single-engine model introduced in 1947 and can normally carry six times, crashed at 3pm.
Little said the first responder was on the scene within three minutes and faced multiple fires.
“They started a huge fire when they arrived from the aircraft,” he said.
Mannheim Police Chief Duane Fisher said the plane seemed to slip about 100 feet when it hit the ground, but he may have avoided the structure.
Fisher was initially told to evacuate as a precaution, and Fisher said at a press conference it was held near the scene of the crash.
Air traffic control radio traffic indicates that someone on the plane reported an open door to the plane shortly after takeoff and requested permission to return to Lancaster Airport.
Air traffic control is heard cleaning the plane to land before prompting a “pull-up.”
Little said federal officials will investigate possible open doors on the aircraft as part of the investigation.
Flight tracker FlightAware indicates that the aircraft is scheduled to fly to Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in Springfield, Ohio.
A video from Lancaster’s NBC affiliate WGAL showed a crashed plane in a parking lot in Breslen village, within a mile of Lancaster airport.
The Brothers Village did not immediately respond to requests for details on Sunday.
Online images of the crash showed the tail of the plane in the parking lot, the rest of the aircraft being engulfed in flames. Little said the remaining fires have disappeared and the scene is in control more than three hours after crashing.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said the state police are helping their first responders.
“All federal resources will be available as responses continue and more information will be provided as they become available,” he said in X.
FAA information indicates that the plane is registered with a Mannheim entity.
“Everyone survives and crashes on a plane that’s not on the ground is amazing,” said police chief Fisher. “To have this type of ending so far is a great day for us.”
The National Road Safety Commission, which normally investigates such crashes, said it is aware of the situation and will release more information later.
Contributors were Gemma Dicasimirro, Jay Blackman, Nollaig O’Connor and Elizabeth Maline.
