Two people were injured, including an off-duty police officer, after a small training aircraft went down in a Philadelphia park.
The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday near Fluehr Park at Grant and Torresdale avenues in the city’s Torresdale section.
According to Fly Legacy Aviation, a flight school based in Philadelphia, the aircraft experienced a loss of engine power over the Delaware River before the instructor and student pilot on board were forced to attempt an emergency landing.
Chopper 6 video showed the Piper PA-28 aircraft smashed into a tree. The nose of the plane was demolished, with pieces of the plane scattered on the ground.
The instructor and student pilot were both taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
“They were both alert and oriented. We were very fortunate,” said Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson. “There was no resulting fire. We do have a small fuel spill. We have our hazardous materials task force on location.”
Sources identified the pilot as an off-duty Philadelphia police officer who works in the 3rd District.
“Although they succeeded in preventing any fatalities or injuries to others, they were unable to avoid striking a tree during their landing,” said Fly Legacy Aviation in a statement.
Flight radar shows the plane took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport around 3 p.m. and traveled through Bucks and Montgomery counties before going down about 30 minutes later.
One witness described the chaotic moment before the crash.
“I saw the plane coming down to land in the Northeast Airport, and it looked like it was sputtering and kind of stalling a little bit. So it made a sharp left and tried to land in the field at Fluehr Park. It started to bounce off the ground a little bit, and then it eventually came to a stop when it crashed into a tree,” the witness said.
Fly Legacy Aviation says a full investigation into the loss of power is underway.
“The information we have is very limited, but as a flight school that trains commercial pilots, we take our responsibilities very, very seriously, and the cause of the engine power loss is under intense investigation at this time,” the company said.
Officials are asking the public to avoid the park as crews remain on the scene.
