Five aboard plane taken to area hospital; no injuries on the ground
MANHEIM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) — A six-seater private plane crashed into the parking area of a retirement community near the Lancaster Airport Sunday afternoon.
The crash happened just after 3 p.m. Sunday when a Beechcraft Bonanza took off from the Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township bound for Springfield, Ohio.
The airplane crashed at Brethren Village, a retirement community just south of the airport. An abc27 News crew at the scene could see the charred wreckage of the airplane and several cars.
Smoke could be seen from several miles away shortly after the crash.
Photo Courtesy / Emory Hay
Seth Kaplan / abc27 News
Seth Kaplan / abc27 News
First responders work the scene after a plane crashed in the parking lot of a retirement community in Manheim Township, Pa., Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Logan Gehman/LNP/LancasterOnline via AP)
First responders work the scene after a plane crashed in the parking lot of a retirement community in Manheim Township, Pa., Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Logan Gehman/LNP/LancasterOnline via AP)
The Federal Aviation Administration tells abc27 News the plane was carrying five people. The FAA is investigating, as well.
Manheim Township Fire Chief Scott Little said those five people were taken to area hospitals. No injuries were reported on the ground and at least five vehicles were destroyed.
Route 501 remains closed between Oregon Pike and Millport Road, a PennDOT spokesperson said, due to the crash.
Lancaster County Commissioners Chairman Josh Parsons said county emergency officials are on scene and setting up an Emergency Operations Center.
Governor Josh Shapiro said the Pennsylvania State Police is assisting local first responders.
“All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues, and more information will be provided as it becomes available,” Shapiro said in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board told abc27 they are aware of a crash and they are “gathering information and monitoring the situation at this time.”
“NTSB will work with FAA who has someone on the ground to conduct the documentation and initial examination,” a spokesperson said. “No plans to send an NTSB investigator at this time.”
“I feel very, very blessed that it didn’t hit any buildings at Brethren Village,” Sandy Smith, a resident at Brethren Village told abc27 News. “I hope that the passengers in the airplane survive and be well.”
Flight tracking apps show a Beechcraft Bonanza taking off from Lancaster Airport just after 3 p.m. bound for Springfield, Ohio. The airplane disappears from the radar display a few minutes after takeoff over an apartment complex south of the airport.
The crash is the second in Pennsylvania in just over a month.
On Jan. 31, an air medical jet went down shortly after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport.
This is a developing story. Stay with abc27 News as more information becomes available
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