A small plane went down in suburban Pennsylvania on Sunday, March 9, slamming into a parking lot and bursting into flames. It had just taken off from Lancaster Airport around 3:15 p.m when something went wrong.
Five people were on board. By the time emergency crews got there, the wreckage was on fire, and several parked cars had gone up in flames too.
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The plane requested to land due to an open door
Turns out, the flight started off normal, but then the pilot realized a door hadn’t been shut properly. He radioed air traffic control, asking to come back and land. That never happened.
Footage captures the burning wreckage
People nearby started filming, and the footage is just wild — flames everywhere, black smoke pouring into the air, cars burned to a crisp.
The video also shows what’s left of the plane — specifically, its tail section, with the code N347M still visible, sitting in the middle of all that destruction.
Pilot’s distress call is heard in air traffic control audio
If the video wasn’t chilling enough, the air traffic control audio is even worse. You can hear the pilot trying to communicate, but at one point, the wind noise from the open door makes it almost impossible.
“Pull up… the aircraft is down just behind the terminal in the parking lot tree area,” the controller says in a desperate attempt to guide the situation.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash
Right now, nobody knows exactly what caused the crash. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said state police and first responders were already on the ground, working the scene.
“Our team at Pennsylvania State Police is on the ground assisting local first responders following the small private plane crash near Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township,” Shapiro posted on X.
“All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues and more information will be provided as it becomes available.”
Five passengers were hospitalized
All five people on the plane made it out, but not without injuries. Reports say several of them suffered burns and had to be taken to the hospital.
Several vehicles were destroyed in the crash
A bunch of parked cars got completely totaled. At least a dozen vehicles were damaged in the crash, but somehow, nobody on the ground was hurt. No buildings were hit, either.
Another addition to a string of recent plane crashes
Lately, it feels like plane crashes are happening more and more. This one in Pennsylvania is just the latest in a string of incidents over the past few months.
Hopefully, this is the last of these crashes — because no one wants to see another tragedy like this.
