A small aircraft carrying five people crashed in the parking lot of a retirement community in Lancaster County, Pa., on Sunday afternoon, according to local officials, after the pilot reported there was an “open door,” air traffic transmissions show.
The aircraft, a six-seater Beechcraft Bonanza, crashed outside the Brethren Village Retirement Community at 3:18 p.m. after it took off from Lancaster Airport, Scott Little, the fire chief of Manheim Township Fire Rescue, said at a news conference on Sunday.
All five people on the plane were taken to Lancaster General Hospital, a hospital spokesperson said. Two people were then flown to Lehigh Valley Health Network’s burn center, and one person was taken there in an ambulance. Two people who were hospitalized at Lancaster General were discharged on Sunday evening, the spokesperson said on Monday.
No one on the ground was hurt, officials said.
Duane Fisher, police chief of Manheim Township, said at the news conference on Sunday that it looked as if the aircraft skidded about 100 feet after hitting the ground. About a dozen vehicles were damaged, though there was no damage to buildings.
Brethren Village Retirement Community said on Monday that its residents were asked to briefly shelter in place after the crash.
The village also said that the Civil Air Patrol had been at the site overnight while the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash.
“Due to a fuel spill from the crash, environmental evaluations are currently underway,” the retirement community said in a statement.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, which provides real-time information on airline accidents and safety, the plane departed Lancaster Airport on Sunday and was bound for Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in Springfield, Ohio.
Shortly after taking off, the pilot reported that there was an “open door,” and that the plane needed “to return for a landing,” according to an air traffic control recording. The pilot reported difficulty hearing the controller because of the wind.
Videos posted on social media showed the plane and nearby vehicles engulfed in flames, with smoke billowing from the fire.
An N.T.S.B. spokesman said in an email on Monday that the agency’s investigation would include reviewing recordings of air-traffic control communications, radar data, witness statements, aircraft records and the pilot’s activities in the 72 hours before the crash occurred.
