Small Plane Crash At Montgomery County Residence Leaves 1 Injured
WHITPAIN TOWNSHIP, PA (CBS) -- Police say one person was injured after a small plane crashed at a residence in Montgomery County Sunday evening.
The crash took place shortly after 5 p.m. at a home at 25 Meade Road in Whitpain Township.
The FAA said in a statement Sunday night:
"A Buschmann Vanzetti Vari-Ez experimental aircraft crashed approximately one mile from the end of Runway 24 at the Wings Field Airport, Blue Bell, PA."
Small plane crashes into this home on Meade Rd in Whitpain Township. pic.twitter.com/rf8xCnAh8o
— Tim Jimenez (@TimJRadio) September 24, 2017
Chief Kenneth Lawson of the Whitpain Township Police Department says fire and rescue crews discovered a small single engine plane that had crashed on the Montgomery County property containing only the pilot.
"I heard a plane that clearly sounded like it was in distress, and I looked up it was flying way to close to our house," said neighbor Douglas Disandro. "Next thing I know I hear the crash, ran out front and saw a bunch of debris at the house across the street."
Disandro says that he and another neighbor, Brian McShane, found the plane with the pilot in a "bush" on the property.
"Brian McShane, who's my neighbor, he was here first. He saved the day. He saved the guy's life," said neighbor David Buck. "We were next to the [pilot] and we were holding him and there was no pulse. [McShane] reaches to find a pulse, and then he realized their was a seat belt around the guy's neck, and that was the problem right there. So we were able to cut that off."
Authorities say the pilot, 29-year-old Phillip David Beckner, Jr., of Crofton Maryland, was transported to Penn Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition.
Firefigters shine light on crash scene in Whitpain Twp. @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/i6UXqq1rIU
— Tim Jimenez (@TimJRadio) September 24, 2017
Officials say there was one person inside of the home at the time of the crash, but thankfully that person was not injured.
"It's scary," said Buck. "Wings Field is right there. We see planes, you know four, five, six, ten a day, and it's a nice view to watch the planes go right down. You know kinda across the field right there, but this is kind of a reality wake up check, it's kind of scary."
Chief Lawson says the FAA has been notified and that NTSB will be on scene Monday to investigate.
KYW's Tim Jimenez and Justin Udo contributed to this story.