On Wednesday evening (July 2), a single-engine skydiving plane crashed into a forest at the end of a runway at an airport in southern New Jersey, USA, and was destroyed, with 15 people on board being sent to the hospital.
According to a spokesperson from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the accident occurred at Cross Keys Airport, located about 21 miles (34 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia. The crashed aircraft was a Cessna 208B plane carrying 15 people.
Aerial footage showed the wreckage of the plane in the forest, with scattered debris nearby. Fire trucks and other rescue vehicles surrounded the scene of the accident.
Rescue personnel received the alarm around 5:25 p.m. that day.
Andrew Halter from the Gloucester County Emergency Management Office in New Jersey stated that when rescue personnel arrived at the scene, they found the aircraft severely damaged, with many injured individuals covered in fuel from the plane.
He said, “The injured individuals were decontaminated before being transported to the hospital. There were a total of 15 people on board, including the pilot.”
Wendy A. Marano, spokesperson for Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, said the trauma center was evaluating three of the injured individuals, while the emergency department treated eight patients with minor injuries. Four “minor injuries” patients were awaiting further evaluation. She mentioned that specific details on the injuries could not be provided at the moment.
The Gloucester County Emergency Management Office issued a warning on Facebook to the public to avoid the area so that emergency vehicles could access the scene of the accident.
Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 indicated that the crashed plane was descending rapidly at a speed of 3,008 feet per minute before the tracking data was lost.
The plane is owned by a company in Virginia, but it is unclear who the pilot was. The aircraft was leased to a skydiving center in Gloucester County.
Investigators reported that the pilot had reported engine trouble before the accident occurred.
Halter stated, “According to reports, the pilot was climbing when the engine trouble was noticed, and they attempted to circle back for a ground landing but were unsuccessful.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is currently investigating the incident.