Preliminary Report Issued On Weekend Plane Crash In Eastern PA

EASTERN PA — The Federal Aviation Administration has released its preliminary report on the plane crash in eastern Pennsylvania Sunday that injured five people amid ongoing concerns over air safety.

The plane went down just minutes after takeoff from Lancaster Airport, at around 3:15 p.m. It crashed in the parking lot of the Brethren Village retirement community where it sparked a large fire that engulfed several vehicles.

The cause of the crash is not yet known and still under an ongoing investigation between the FAA and the NTSB.

The plane that went down was a single-engine Beechcraft A36TC that seats six people, the FAA report indicates. They classified the crash as an "accident" though the preliminary investigation revealed nothing further.

The plane was completely destroyed in the crash.

Three of the five people inside the plane were hospitalized with minor injuries.

President Trump addressed the crash on Monday morning while aboard Air Force One, when reporters asked him about ongoing cuts to the FAA.

“Well, that (the Lancaster crash) has nothing to do with the department," he said, according to CBS 21 and ABC 27. "That was a small plane, and that would’ve happened whether you had a big department or a small department, as you understand it. It’s just, they have space like this, you know, they have times when things happen a little bit more often than normal, and then it goes back, and you go many years without having a problem."

Eyewitnesses said the plane narrowly missed hitting a three-story building at the sprawling retirement community. There was no structural damage to Brethren Village but about a dozen vehicles were damaged, authorities said at a press conference.

No one was hurt on the ground.

Gov. Josh Shapiro addressed the crash and said that the state was working with local crews on the scene.

"Our team at PA State Police is on the ground assisting local first responders following the small private plane crash near Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township," he said Monday. "All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues, and more information will be provided as it becomes available."

The crash comes about a month after seven people were killed when an air ambulance burst into flames after crashing onto a busy Philadelphia street.