Pilot Was Attempting to Return to the Airport After a Door Opened On Takeoff

On March 9, a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza crashed into a retirement community’s parking lot while attempting to return to its departure airport. All five on board survived with various degrees of injury.

The aircraft, a 1981 Beechcraft A36TC Bonanza registered as N347M, departed from runway 26 at Pennsylvania’s Lancaster Airport (LNS). It planned to fly west to Ohio’s Springfield Airport (SGH).

Just after takeoff, the Bonanza’s pilot contacted ATC to report an in-flight emergency. He said that the door had opened and he needed to come back for landing. The controller responded by giving the pilot access to runway 26 or 31. With winds showing 260 degrees at 17 knots, gusting up to 30 knots, the pilot requested a downwind for runway 26. His last transmission was a readback of the landing clearance, followed by ATC frantically telling him to “pull up” as the aircraft made a left turn.

Seconds later, at around 3:15 pm, Lancaster Countywide Communications dispatch was notified of a plane down in the parking lot of the Brethren Village retirement community. It landed on top of several vehicles, skidded around 100 feet, and caught fire.

Luckily, all five people on the aircraft survived, and there were no fatalities reported on the ground. They were transported to local hospitals for treatment, and the Civil Air Patrol jumped in to help secure the crash site for investigators. Other damages included the destruction of the Bonanza and around five vehicles.

"Five patients from Sunday afternoon’s plane crash near Lancaster Airport were transported to Lancaster General Hospital, where trauma and emergency teams were at the ready to provide care,” read a statement from a Lancaster General Hospital spokesperson. “Two of the patients were transported to Lehigh Valley Health Network’s burn center by PennSTAR flight crews, and one patient was transported there by ground ambulance. The two other patients were treated and discharged from Lancaster General on Sunday night."

The FAA and NTSB will spearhead the investigation, with a preliminary report expected within the standard 30 days. A final cause will be released in the next year or two.

FMI: https://lancasterairport.com