A skydiving plane with 15 people on board crashed as it was taking off from Cross Keys Airport in Gloucester County, N.J., the authorities said.
CreditCredit...6ABC Philadelphia

Skydiving Plane With 15 Aboard Crashes in New Jersey

The plane, a Cessna 208B, went off the end of a runway as it was taking off from a small airport in Gloucester County, according to the F.A.A. Victims were being treated at the scene, officials said.

by · NY Times

A skydiving plane carrying 15 people crashed during the early stages of its flight after it went off the end of a runway at a small airport in southern New Jersey on Wednesday afternoon, according to officials.

The F.A.A. said the crash, which involved a Cessna 208B, occurred around 5:30 p.m. at Cross Keys Airport in Monroe Township, N.J., about 20 miles southeast of Philadelphia. Three people with critical injuries were taken to the hospital by a helicopter, according to Andrew Halter of Gloucester County Emergency Management.

A spokeswoman for Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., which has a Level One trauma center, said trauma surgeons were at the crash scene triaging the victims.

The spokeswoman, Wendy Marano, said three people were taken to the hospital’s trauma center. Eight others “with less severe injuries” were being treated in the emergency department and four people with “minimal injuries” were in the hospital’s waiting room awaiting care as of Wednesday evening.

The Cessna was leased to Skydive Cross Keys, according to Mr. Halter. He added that the plane had “reported engine trouble prior to the crash,” but the specific cause is still under investigation.

In a post on social media immediate after the crash, Gloucester County Emergency Management urged the public to avoid the area around the airport, citing a “mass casualty incident” after a plane crash. Several agencies were responding, it said.

6abc, a Philadelphia news station, showed footage of a frenetic emergency response on a rural road, including people being loaded onto stretchers.

On its website, Skydive Cross Keys says it is the “epicenter” of skydiving in the Northeast. The company offers tandem skydiving, lessons toward a certification and solo skydiving for those who are licensed, the site says.