The skydiving plane that crashed early Wednesday evening at Cross Keys Airport experienced midair “mechanical issues” and made an emergency landing on the runway but was unable to stop and plowed into the nearby woods, the company that operates the plane said Thursday.
Eight people remained hospitalized, including three in critical condition. Fourteen of the 15 people on board the single-engine Cessna 208B received medical treatment or evaluations, officials said.
The plane was at roughly 3,000 feet when “the pilot, who is highly experienced, made the decision to perform an emergency landing. While the aircraft landed on the runway, it was unable to decelerate fully and continued beyond the end of the runway, coming to a stop in a wooded area,” Skydive Cross Keys said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a brief preliminary report Thursday that the plane “experienced engine issues” and crashed while returning to the airport “after a runway excursion into trees.”
At a news conference, Monroe Township Police Chief John McBride described the plane as “completely mangled, just beyond repair. It looked like a big pile of metal,” the Associated Press reported.
McBride said he and other rescuers arriving at the scene found most of the victims “out of the plane and crawling on the ground.” The victims were covered in jet fuel and some were screaming in pain.
“It was chaotic,” McBride said.
Cooper University Hospital spokesperson Wendy A. Marano said Thursday that there were eight patients at the hospital, including three in critical condition, with blunt force trauma from the crash.
At least 14 of the 15 victims were initially transported to Cooper, with eight being admitted.
McBride said one person from the crash refused medical treatment. McBride said he told the man he had a facial injury and needed care, but the man replied: “It’ll be something cool to tell the ladies later.”
Skydive Cross Keys said the aircraft was current on all scheduled maintenance and had recently undergone a routine FAA inspection.
The cause of the accident is under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
“We feel so relieved there was no loss of life; the outcome could have been much worse,” Skydive Cross Keys said in its statement.
“We’re incredibly thankful for the skill and composure of our pilot, whose actions helped keep everyone alive. We’re also deeply grateful to the emergency responders who arrived so quickly and took such great care of everyone on board. The outpouring of support from the skydiving community and from so many people who have jumped with us over the years has truly meant the world to our team,” the company said.
