Multiple people were injured after a small skydiving plane crashed near a New Jersey airport Wednesday evening.
The Cessna 208B plane carrying 15 people went off the end of the runway while taking off at Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown, the Federal Aviation Administration told The Independent. The FAA is investigating the crash.
The Associated Press reported 15 people were taken to the hospital. The plane was found in a wooded area, aerial video shows.
Gloucester County Emergency Management called it a “mass casualty incident” in a Facebook post Wednesday.
“Please avoid the area to allow emergency vehicles the best access,” officials said.
Wendy A. Marano, a spokesperson for Cooper University Hospital in Camden, told the AP three people were being treated at the trauma center and eight who were less severely injured were being treated in its emergency department.
Marano said the other four patients who had “minimal injuries” were waiting to be further evaluated.
It is unclear what caused the crash.
This incident comes just days after a small twin-engine plane crashed in Ohio, killing six people.
On Sunday morning, shortly after that plane took off from the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, it crashed in a heavily wooded area.
The plane was carrying two experienced crew members and four passengers when it crashed and caught on fire, local officials said.
Howland Fire Chief Ray Pace said the “extremely tragic situation” could have been worse, as the plane crashed near two or three houses.