Skydiving plane's engine lost power before crashing at Cross Keys Airport in New Jersey, NTSB report says
The pilot of a skydiving aircraft that crashed earlier this month at Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown, New Jersey, said the plane's engine lost power, according to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday.
The plane crash happened shortly before 5:30 p.m. on July 2 at the airport in Gloucester County. Fifteen people were hurt in the crash.
According to the NTSB report, the pilot reported losing engine power during the climb at approximately 3,000 feet above ground level.
The pilot attempted to land the plane, but it touched down near the end of a runway and crashed into trees about 700 feet beyond the airstrip, the report said. The plane traveled about 250 feet through the trees before coming to a stop, according to the report.
The plane was carrying 15 people — two pilots and 13 passengers. The two pilots and 10 of the passengers suffered serious injuries, and three other passengers sustained minor injuries, the report said.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the engine's loss of power.
The crash flight was the plane's second trip of the day, according to the report. The first flight was an 18-minute skydive that took off at 4:23 p.m. The accident flight departed at 5:14 p.m.
Monroe Township Police Chief John McBride was one of the first on the scene after the plane crash. McBride said the plane "just looked like a big pile of metal," and he saw several people crawling out of it, covered in fuel.
"It's amazing at this point that there are no fatalities reported," Andrew Halter with the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management said after the crash.
