A single-engine airplane carrying five people crashed in the parking lot of a retirement community near Lancaster Airport on Sunday afternoon, igniting multiple vehicles in flames but causing no injuries to anyone on the ground, authorities said.
The crash occurred around 3 p.m. in Manheim Township, just south of Lancaster Airport, near Brethren Village, a retirement community in Lititz. Officials confirmed all five passengers were transported to Lancaster-area hospitals. Their conditions have not been released.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane suddenly veer left before plummeting nose-first into the parking lot, creating an immediate fireball. The wreckage, along with several parked cars, was engulfed in flames as thick black smoke billowed into the air. A fire truck from the airport responded within moments, with additional emergency crews quickly arriving to battle the intense blaze.
Authorities confirmed five vehicles were destroyed, but no buildings were damaged. As a precaution, Brethren Village residents were ordered to shelter in place until the situation was deemed under control around 6 p.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Beechcraft Bonanza and confirmed five people were aboard. Air traffic control audio captured a transmission from someone on the plane reporting an open aircraft door and requesting an immediate landing. Moments later, controllers instructed the pilot to pull up, followed by a transmission indicating the aircraft had gone down.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash. The incident comes just weeks after a deadly air ambulance crash in Philadelphia that claimed seven lives.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, WGAL