3 from plane crash taken to burn unit
LITITZ (AP) — Three of the five family members injured in a single-engine plane crash in Lancaster County after the pilot reported an open door on the aircraft were taken to a burn center for treatment, officials said Monday.
TV station WGAL in Lancaster identified the pilot as Matt White and the four passengers injured in Sunday’s crash as his family members, citing the aviation company, Venture Jets, where White is an executive board member.
The plane was White’s personal plane, WGAL reported.
No one was killed in the fiery crash and no one was injured on the ground, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The state Department of Environmental Protection said Monday that a contractor was cleaning up an undetermined amount of jet fuel from the plane that ended up in a stormwater basin. Surface water was not affected, the agency said.
Federal investigators had no immediate comment on a cause of the crash, and neither authorities nor hospitals officials have released the identities or conditions of those in the crash.
Two patients were flown to the Lehigh Valley Health Network’s burn center, while a third was driven there by ambulance, according to a spokesperson for Lancaster General Hospital, where all five occupants were taken immediately after the crash.
The other two patients were released Sunday night from Lancaster General, the spokesperson said.
The plane burst into flames as it crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday from Lancaster Airport. Vehicles were ignited when it crashed in a parking lot of the Brethren Village retirement community in Manheim Township near Lititz. Residents there briefly had to shelter in place.
The Beechcraft Bonanza plane, registered to Jam Zoom Yayos LLC in Manheim, not far from the airport, went down just after 3 p.m. FlightAware said the plane was headed to Springfield, Ohio.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it has opened an investigation and was working with the FAA, which it said had someone at the site to examine it and gather documentation.
Investigators will look into the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment, the NTSB said. That will include gathering recordings of air traffic control communications, flight tracking data, witness statements, surveillance video and aircraft maintenance records, it said.
A preliminary report is expected within 30 days of the crash, while an investigation can take 12 to 24 months to complete, the NTSB said.
Witness Brian Pipkin was driving when he saw the plane veer to its left.
“And then it went down nose first,” Pipkin said Sunday. “There was an immediate fireball.” He called 911.
Air traffic control audio captured the pilot reporting that the aircraft “has an open door, we need to return for a landing.”
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 just behind the terminal in the parking lot street area.”