WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — More than a dozen people were hospitalized, with three in critical condition, after a small, single-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Gloucester County.
Emergency officials said the Cessna 208B took off from Cross Keys Airport on Tuckahoe Road in Williamstown, New Jersey, just before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, with 15 people aboard, including the pilot. Those aboard were taking part in a skydiving excursion.
The pilot had reported engine trouble just as they were taking off, according to Andrew Halter with Gloucester County Emergency Management. Officials didn't say how high the plane made it off the ground.
“The plane did try to circle back and try to attempt a landing, we were told, but was unsuccessful in that attempt,” Halter said.
It sustained significant damage upon crash landing near the airfield, and officials said those emerging from the wreckage were covered in jet fuel. Hazmat crews worked to decontaminate people before taking them to two nearby hospitals.
Fourteen people were taken to a hospital, with three in critical condition at Cooper Hospital in Camden. One person refused medical treatment.
Cross Keys is a popular skydiving area, according to neighbor Cierra Kelly. She said Wednesday’s crash wasn’t the first. “It's multiple times, so it's not the first big one either,” she said.
“Some of them planes come so close down to our house. … I have kids in there, so who knows if they’re gonna crash into our house?”
Kelly didn't point to any other specific instances, but she said that in the past, people who have skydived out of planes from that airfield have landed in her yard, and she's had to take them back to the airport.
Officials did not acknowledge any prior accidents at Cross Keys aside from a skydiving accident in 2023 that killed a Garnet Valley man.
“Just the fact that we have 15 people that are still with us today, some with minor injuries,” added Halter, “is fantastic and remarkable.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said it has opened an investigation into the crash and will “work with the FAA, who has someone on the ground to conduct the documentation and initial examination.”