Aircraft crashes at Brethren Village in Manheim Township [update]

• LNP|LancasterOnline Staff
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Fire and medical crews are on the scene of a plane crash off of Airport Road at Brethren Village in Manheim Township.

Shortly after 3:15 p.m. Lancaster County-Wide Communications dispatchers reported an aircraft had crashed near a parking lot of Brethren Village. Dispatchers reported that a small airplane as well as several cars had caught fire.

Manheim Township police arrived on scene within two minutes of the dispatch report, with Manheim Township Fire and Rescue arriving immediately afterward.

Officials reported at a press conference that a total of five people, all of whom were on the plane which had taken off from Lancaster Airport, were injured in the incident. They were transported by local EMS agencies to local hospitals for treatment. No one on the ground sustained any injuries.

Manheim Township chief of police Duane Fisher said that, from initial investigation, the plane may have skidded over 100 feet after making contact with the ground. He confirmed that Brethren Village residents were asked to shelter in place as a precaution.

“I don’t know if I’d consider it a miracle, but the fact that we have a plane crash where no one on the ground was hurt is a wonderful thing,” Fisher said.

Manheim Township fire rescue/emergency management director Scott Little stated they will now transition into the discovery and investigation phase. Additional info from federal agencies on next steps are to be determined.

A dozen vehicles on the ground sustained additional damages, with five being severe. No structural damage was reported at Brethren Village. Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Service was seen on site to assist in recovery efforts.

Per the Associated Press, a person on the aircraft was heard reporting that a door on the aircraft was open before requesting a landing at the airport. An air traffic controller had cleared the plane to land before saying “Pull up!”

Brian Pipkin, a Lititz resident who was visiting Brethren Village at the time of the crash, said he was driving on Airport Road when he saw the plane flying low.

“I don’t know what played into it but it veered left,” Pipkin said. “It just nosedived.”

Pipkin said he couldn’t tell if the plane struck a parking lot at Brethren Village or a building. He called 911.

Pipkin said he saw two people laying in the grass nearby, covered in black marks. He wasn’t sure if they were ejected from the plane or not.

Fire police at the scene have closed down roads in the area of Fairview Drive and Meadowview Court before reopening the road around 4:30 p.m. Dispatchers said the emergency response had been contained to the Brethren Village parking lot.

FAA officials confirmed that a Beechcraft Bonanza, a single engine aircraft which seats six, with five people onboard crashed shortly after 3 p.m. Officials said the incident is now under investigation.

According to the aircraft’s FAA registration, the plane was owned by Jam Zoom Yayos LLC in Manheim. The aircraft was scheduled to take off from the Lancaster Airport at 3:15 p.m. Sunday for a flight to Springfield Ohio.

Through a statement posted on social media, Governor Josh Shapiro’s office said Pennsylvania State Police are on the scene assisting local law enforcement.

“All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues, and more information will be provided as it becomes available,” the Governor’s office said.

The crash comes just over a month after a pilot made an emergency landing in a field in Drumore Township. Lancaster Airport had previously saw a helicopter crash in 2021 and an airplane crash in 2020.

The U.S. has seen a number of fatal aviation accidents in 2025, including the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter that killed 67 in Washington D.C. in January; a Learjet crash in Philadelphia that killed 6 just two days later; and a Bering Air crash in Alaska that killed 10 in February.