A single-engine airplane with five people onboard crashed and burst into flames on Sunday in the parking lot of a retirement community in Lancaster County near a small airport in suburban Pennsylvania. All passengers aboard survived but have sustained injuries in the crash.
The crash took place around 3:18 PM ET just south of Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township on the property of Brethren Village retirement community, Scott Little, the chief of Manheim Township Fire said, CNN reported.
Police chief Duane Fisher said at an evening briefing that all five victims were taken to hospitals in unknown condition. Nobody on the ground was hurt, Associated Press reported.
A dozen cars were damaged due to the crash, of which five were “severely” gutted. However, there was no structural damage to the retirement community building. Also, nobody on the ground was injured, CNN reported citing Little.
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Eyewitness Recalls ‘Immediate Fireball’ After Crash
An eyewitness, who was driving nearby at the time of the crash, noticed the small plane climbing before it suddenly veered to the left. “And then it went down nose first. There was an immediate fireball,” he told the AP.
He then called 911 and drove to the crash site, where he captured the video of black smoke billowing from the plane’s mangled wreckage. Multiple cars parked in the parking lot could also be seen engulfed in flames at Brethren Village.
Brian Pipkin described the intense heat of the Lancaster County, PA, plane crash as “feeling like opening an oven set to 500 degrees.” He said as he got closer to the plane, he was “praying to God that nothing would blow up.”
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— Sarah Dewberry (@CNNSarahD) March 9, 2025
The eyewitness also said that the plane narrowly missed hitting a three-story building at the sprawling retirement community, AP reported.
A fire truck from the airport arrived at the crash site within minutes, followed by more first responders. They put out the fire using “copious amounts of water” after “struggling to get the fire out”.
Brethren Village residents were briefly asked to shelter in place as a precaution, police chief Fisher said. “I don’t know if I’d consider it a miracle, but the fact that we have a plane crash where everybody survives and nobody on the ground is hurt is a wonderful thing,” AP quoted the chief as saying.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed there were five people aboard the small plane Beechcraft Bonanza. The conditions of the injured were not immediately known and authorities didn’t reveal much about how they managed to survive the crash.
The FAA said it will investigate the crash, which comes about a month after seven people were killed when an air ambulance burst into flames after crashing onto a busy Philadelphia street.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said state police were assisting local authorities. “All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues, and more information will be provided as it becomes available,” Shapiro said.
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