Operations & Training

Two Injured in Single-Engine PA Airplane Crash

Sept. 21, 2020

Dozens of firefighters from multiple departments responded to the crash of an airplane that went down in Moosic, damaging electrical transformers and injuring two occupants in the aircraft.

By Jeff Horvath

Source The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Firefighters from multiple departments responded to a single-engine airplane crash in Moosic, PA, on Sunday.

MOOSIC, PA—A single-engine plane crash-landed on a borough street Sunday, injuring two occupants.

The plane came down in the 200 block of Stone Street, which is near the Birney Plaza shopping center, shortly before 9 p.m., coming to a rest just feet from a home at 204 Stone St. Moosic Mayor James Segilia confirmed at the scene the two occupants suffered injuries “but they’re not fatal.”

Both were transported to a local hospital, Segilia said.

Emergency lights illuminated the intersection of Stone Street and Wylam Avenue, where scores of onlookers gathered to watch dozens of firefighters from multiple municipalities work the scene.

The plane appeared to have struck two utility poles during its crash-landing, Fire Chief Chuck Molinaro said about 9:45.

While the poles were intact, Moosic Police Chief Rick Janesko said transformers were damaged and wires were down. A total of 503 PPL Electric Utilities customers in the borough’s Greenwood section, where the plane landed, remained without power as of about 10:30 p.m., according to the electric company’s online outage map.

Power was restored to all but two customers as about 11 p.m., according to the map.

Local officials notified the Federal Aviation Administration and intended to be at the scene until released by the FAA, Janesko said.

The aircraft appeared to bear the registration number N3790T, which, according to publicly available FAA records, is registered to Donald W. Harper of Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

A nearby resident, Kim Hoskins of 211 Stone St., said she was in her home when she heard the plane strike a utility pole in front of her house.

“We came running out, and we just heard somebody yell ‘Help,’” Hoskins said. “So my husband ... and my son ran up and there was a woman already out of the plane, and they helped pull a man out of the plane.”

The plane was not in flames when it landed, Hoskins said.

“We’re pretty close to the (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport) and they fly low, but we’ve never had this happen before,” Hoskins said. “I feel very lucky. I mean it happened right outside our window, so yes.”

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Visit The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) at citizensvoice.com

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