Five people on board a small plane that crashed into a residential area in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on Sunday survived and were taken to hospitals, authorities said.
Conditions for the five were unavailable. Manheim Township Fire Chief Scott Little said at a news conference no one on the ground was injured, but five vehicles were damaged.
He would not provide any details about the injuries to those on board. The plane had just taken off from Lancaster Airport when it went down in the Brethren Village retirement community, he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement the plane was a Beechcraft Bonanza with five people on board.
The aircraft, a popular single-engine model introduced in 1947 and usually able to carry six, crashed at 3 p.m., the FAA said.
Emergency crews at the site of a plane crash in a residential area in Lancaster County, Pa., on Sunday.
Little said first responders were on scene within three minutes and faced multiple fires.
“They had heavy fire on arrival from the aircraft,” he said.
Manheim Police Chief Duane Fisher said the plane appeared to have skidded about 100 feet when it hit the ground but may have avoided structures.
Residents were initially told to shelter in place as a precaution, Fisher said at the news conference, which was held near the crash site.
Air traffic control radio traffic indicates someone in the plane reported an open door on the aircraft shortly after takeoff and requesting permission to return to Lancaster Airport.
Air traffic control is heard clearing the plane to land before urging it to “pull up.”
Little said federal officials would look into the possibility of an open door on the aircraft as part of their investigation.
Flight tracker FlightAware shows the aircraft was scheduled to fly to Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in Springfield, Ohio.
The scene in the parking area at Brethren Village in Lancaster, Pa., on Sunday.
Video from NBC affiliate WGAL of Lancaster showed the crashed plane in the parking area at Brethren Village, less than a mile from Lancaster Airport.
Brethren Village did not immediately respond to a request for more information Sunday.
Online images of the crash showed the tail of a plane in a parking lot with the rest of the aircraft engulfed in flames. Little said any remaining fire was extinguished and the scene was under control a little more than three hours after the crash.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said state police were helping first responders.
“All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues, and more information will be provided as it becomes available,” he said on X.
FAA information showed the plane is registered to an entity in Manheim.
“A plane crash where everybody survives and nobody on the ground is hurt is a wonderful thing,” Fisher, the police chief, said. “To have this type of ending so far is a great day for us.”
The National Transportation Safety Board, which normally investigates such crashes, said it was aware of the situation and would release more information later.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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