Skydiving plane goes off New Jersey runway and crashes into woods, sending 15 to hospital

Fifteen people were taken to the hospital after a skydiving aircraft radioed it was having engine trouble after takeoff and crashed on landing near an airport in southern New Jersey on Wednesday according to officials The single engine Cessna B was carrying people when it crashed at about p m at the Cross Keys Airport about miles kilometers southeast of Philadelphia according to the Federal Aviation Administration The plane did try to circle back and attempt a landing we are explained but was unsuccessful in that attempt Andrew Halter with Gloucester County Crisis Management noted during a news conference Wednesday night The injuries ranged from minor to critical and the plane was severely damaged Halter announced Specific of the people on board were covered in jet fuel and had to be decontaminated before being taken to the hospital he declared Just the fact that we have people that are still with us here in the present day chosen with minor injuries I think is fantastic and remarkable he declared Aerial footage of the crashed plane shows it in the woods with several pieces of debris nearby Firetrucks and other emergency vehicles surrounded the scene Three people were being evaluated at Cooper University Hospital s trauma center in Camden New Jersey and eight people with less severe injuries were being treated in its emergency department announced Wendy A Marano a spokesperson for the hospital Four other patients also with minimal injuries were waiting for further evaluation she explained She wasn t able to provide the exact nature of the injuries Members of the hospital s EMS and trauma department were at the crash site she explained Halter disclosed the aircraft is owned and operated by ARNE Aviation out of Virginia and leased to Skydive Cross Keys Skydive Cross Keys didn t right away respond to an email from The Associated Press requesting comment When inquired about the crash Tracey Sackett who proven she is ARNE Aviation s office manager disclosed to call the office the day after A person who answered the phone at Cross Keys Airport on Wednesday reported he had no information and referred questions to Skydive Cross Keys The National Transportation Safety Board mentioned in a post on the social platform X that it is scrutinizing the crash Gov Phil Murphy declared on X that he had been briefed on the crash and that there had been no fatalities at this time Associated Press reporter Mark Scolforo contributed from Harrisburg Pennsylvania Source