Washington [US], March 10: A small plane carrying five people crashed into a retirement village in Pennsylvania (USA) and caught fire.
ABC News reported that the Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashed near a retirement village south of Lancaster Airport in Pennsylvania on the afternoon of March 9 (local time).
Local authorities announced that evening that the plane had just taken off from the airport when it crashed. The plane may have skidded about 30 meters on the road after landing.
All five people on board were taken to local hospitals, but the extent of their injuries is unknown. Officials said no one else was injured. Several nearby cars were damaged and burned by the plane. A witness told the AP that the plane narrowly missed crashing into a three-story building.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would investigate the crash, while the US National Transportation Safety Board was also monitoring the situation. In a recording from the air traffic control center, the pilot of the crashed plane told air traffic control at Lancaster Airport that his plane had opened the door needed to return to land.
The control tower then allowed the plane to turn around, but a few seconds later, the controller announced that the plane had to climb.
Images from the scene show smoke and flames rising from the crash site in Lititz, Manheim town.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said state police were on the scene assisting emergency responders after the plane crash. He vowed to devote all resources to the response and would release more information later.
About a month ago, an air ambulance crashed onto a busy street in Philadelphia, killing seven people.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
