MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — The pilot of a skydiving team encountered mechanical issues that prompted an emergency landing at a small New Jersey airport but could not get the plane stopped at the end of the runway, the company said in a statement Thursday.
Skydive Cross Keys said the plane was at an altitude of about 3,000 feet (900 meters) when the problem arose. Fifteen people were aboard the plane, and as of Thursday afternoon three remained in critical condition at a New Jersey hospital and five others were listed as serious.
The single engine Cessna 208B radioed about having engine trouble after takeoff and crashed on landing around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Cross Keys Airport, about 21 miles (34 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia, authorities said. An initial report posted Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft, with 14 passengers and one crew member, “crashed while returning to the airport after a runway excursion into trees.”
Monroe Township Police Chief John McBride said he was among the first rescuers to arrive at the crash, finding most of the victims “out of the plane and crawling on the ground.” Some were still trying to remove their parachutes.
Fire crews had to cut down trees to get to the wreckage, which McBride said was “completely mangled, just beyond repair. It just looked like a big pile of metal.” Less-injured victims were tending to more seriously hurt people. Some were screaming in pain and victims were covered in jet fuel.