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The crash happened on Sunday, March 9 around 2:30 p.m., when a 1981 Beechcraft Bonanza took off from Lancaster Airport en route to Springfield, Ohio. All five people onboard survived — but two, including the pilot, suffered serious injuries.
Pilot Matthew W. White, 45, of Rapho Township, told the National Transportation Safety Board he heard a loud “pop” during takeoff and soon realized the cabin door had swung open. He pulled back the throttle and tried to push it forward again, but noticed the aircraft’s airspeed wasn’t increasing and began searching for a place to land. He doesn’t remember anything after that moment, the NTSB said.
One passenger told investigators the door opened “as soon as the airplane left the ground.” Another, seated in the front, tried to hold the door shut as the plane made a left turn and began “shaking.” That’s when she realized the plane was going to crash, the report says.
A security camera from an apartment complex across the street captured the plane’s final moments — rocking side to side with its tail low before crashing into the parking lot of Brethren Village, a retirement community.
The plane hit several cars and burst into flames. No one on the ground was hurt, though more than a dozen vehicles were damaged.
White and his son Judah were airlifted to Lehigh Valley Health Network’s burn center, where they were treated for weeks before being discharged on April 7. The three other passengers — all family members — were treated for minor injuries and released the same day.
The NTSB says the aircraft was destroyed, but there was no in-air explosion. Investigators are retaining the wreckage for further examination. A full report could take up to a year to complete.
This is the second small plane crash in Pennsylvania in as many months — following a fiery wreck in Philadelphia on Feb. 1 — and just weeks before another crash flipped a plane in Berks County on March 20.
Another plane crashed on Friday, April 18. Click here to read our report.
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