Updated at 7:45 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A small plane crashed into a tree while making an emergency crash-landing on Wednesday in a Northeast Philadelphia park.
The plane, a Piper Pilot 100i training aircraft, experienced engine power loss over the Delaware River, according to Fly Legacy Aviation, a flight school based out of the nearby Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Officials said a distress call was received just before 4 p.m.
According to a statement from Fly Legacy, the instructor and student pilot made an emergency landing at Fluehr Park near Grant and Torresdale Avenues. After the plane crashed into a tree, first responders arrived quickly, as did Stephen Sergi, who lives 400 yards from the park and teaches at Holy Family University, just across the street.
"The passenger was sitting on the curb, he was fine," Sergi recalled. "They were trying to extricate the pilot and they were pulling him out, and he was screaming in pain. I was amazed at the response — the first responders were here in two minutes. It was amazing."
They managed to avoid the university, nearby homes, the Torresdale train station, I-95 and all of the numerous people Sergi says were in the park at the time.
"Dog walkers, bicycle people, the whole Holy Family University softball team was here. There were cars parked in the parking lot. I just don’t know how he wound up hitting that tree without hitting anything else," he said.
Both pilot and passenger were taken to a nearby hospital in serious condition, though fire officials said they were both alert.
Fly Legacy said it is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration and investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board. Crews also had to clean up fuel spillage.
"As a flight school who trains commercial pilots, we take our responsibilities very, very seriously," said the school in its statement, "and the cause of the engine power loss is under intense investigation at this time."
The crash site is approximately five miles from where a medical transport jet crashed last year, killing at least seven people and injuring two dozen others.
The pilot and passenger were described as 'alert,' but taken to hospital in serious condition
