Fire and medical crews are responding to a plane crash off Airport Road near Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Lancaster County-Wide Communications dispatchers received reports shortly after 3:15 p.m EDT. that a small aircraft had crashed near a parking lot at Brethren Village. The crash ignited fires involving the plane and multiple vehicles.
LancasterOnline has more:
Emergency crews on the scene reported that a total of five people were injured in the incident. Dispatchers were unable to comment on the extent of the injuries.
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.
Videos of the scene have been shared on social media:
BREAKING: Plane crashes in Manheim Township, Pennsylvania pic.twitter.com/3GopIgy5b0
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 9, 2025
UPDATE: The FAA says five people were on board the aircraft, which went down in Manheim Township, PA. The plane is reportedly a Beechcraft Bonanza. Unknown condition of occupants.pic.twitter.com/o4pnvfV6N4
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 9, 2025
This incident comes less than a month after a Delta Airlines plane crash-landed at a Toronto airport, causing the plane to completely flip upside down on the icy runway.
Naturally, the mainstream media shamelessly attempted to tie the crash to President Trump, Elon Musk, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
NBC's Tom Costello reported on the crash by stating, "This is going to yet again raise the concern about FAA staffing, air traffic control staffing," suggesting a link between the crash and staffing issues at the FAA. Costello went on to question whether air traffic control staffing issues in the U.S. had anything to do with an incident in Canada.
“And yet, as you also know, the FAA has been complaining for years that they are understaffed in critical job positions, especially air traffic control. I was having a conversation with somebody today about whether air traffic control in America is being affected by the staff cuts. So far, not to their knowledge.”
In the weeks following the devastating midair collision at Reagan National Airport in January, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) hiring practices have come under intense scrutiny. The tragic accident, involving an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army helicopter, claimed all 67 lives on board. At PJ Media, we have extensively covered the FAA’s staffing crisis—driven by DEI initiatives under Obama and Biden that prioritized diversity quotas over merit, leading to the rejection of highly qualified white applicants.
Current and former air traffic control whistleblowers warn that the FAA’s obsession with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has led to a decline in the recruitment of competent personnel, likely contributing to the Reagan National disaster. These DEI-driven hiring practices took hold under Obama, were halted during Trump’s presidency, and were reinstated under Biden—once again prioritizing diversity over qualifications.
Costello, however, ignored all of this. Instead, he absurdly tried to pin the crash on Trump’s efforts to trim the federal workforce—even though the crash occurred in Canadian airspace, under Canadian air traffic control, and had nothing to do with the FAA, understaffed or not.
Want to support our hard-hitting journalism that exposes the Left and tells the stories the mainstream media won’t? PJ Media is committed to bringing you the truth and holding the powerful accountable. Become a VIP member today and help us continue our fearless reporting. Use code FIGHT for 60% off—don’t wait, join us now and support journalism that puts America first!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member