A small airplane with five people onboard crashed in a parking lot near Lancaster airport in Manheim Township, Pennsylvania, on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the single-engine plane was a Beechcraft Bonanza, and the incident happened around 3pm in Lancaster county.
The five people on the plane survived the crash near the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, airport and were transported to local hospitals, the Manheim Township fire chief, Scott Little, said at a press conference. He did not have details on the condition of the pilot and passengers.
Little said that no one on the ground was injured and that the plane did not strike any buildings when it crashed shortly after taking off. At least a dozen cars in the parking lot of the Brethren Village retirement community were damaged by the plane.
Footage shared on social media showed black smoke rising from the wreckage and several parked cars engulfed in flames at the crash site, located about 75 miles west of Philadelphia.
The FAA said it will investigate.
Route 501 is closed in the area. Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, said state police were assisting local first responders.
Our team at @PAStatePolice is on the ground assisting local first responders following the small private plane crash near Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township.
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) March 9, 2025
All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues, and more information will be provided as it…
Sunday’s crash follows a slew of recent aviation crashes that have spiked public concern. In late January, an American Airlines plane collided with a US army helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington DC, killing all 67 people onboard both aircraft.
National Transportation Safety Board officials are still investigating the Washington crash, as well as a medical jet crash in Philadelphia, also in January, that killed seven people and a plane crash in Alaska in February that killed 10 people.
Amid rising concerns, Google searches for “is flying safe” have surged.
A recent AP-Norc poll, released in February, found that 64% of Americans consider air travel very or somewhat safe, down from 71% last year.
