Plane Crash in PA Neighborhood Leaves Two Dead

Two people were killed when a small plane crashed Thursday evening in a neighborhood of single-family homes in Hilltown Township not far from Pennridge Central Middle School.

Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck confirmed the pilot and a passenger, both believed to be male, died in the crash, the Bucks County Courier Times reported. The names of the dead were not released Thursday night.

The crash was reported around 5 p.m. near Victoria Lane and Brittany Lane, Bucks County emergency responders said.

“The house shook,” Victoria Lane resident Amanda Cichanowsky said. “We at first thought a motorcycle hit a pole or tree. We ran outside and saw a plane hit the corner of our intersection, about 100 yards from our house. The plane was engulfed in flames. There was a car parked on the corner that I guess also caught fire when fluid from the plane spread to the car. Nobody was in the car, though.

“Everybody in our neighborhood was calling 911 at the same time,” Cichanowsky said. “Luckily, we have quite a few families in the neighborhood who are firefighters and they came to the scene within 30 seconds. Looking outside now, we see a lot of fire trucks and police. There were helicopters up in the air earlier. It’s very noisy. The whole scene is just lit up with lights. Everything’s been taped off. Just the tail of the plane is left. The rest is all charred under a tarp.”

Cichanowsky described her neighborhood as peaceful.

“I thank God no children were walking home from school and that none of the houses were hit,” she said.

Drew Krupp, who also lives on Victoria Lane, was on his living room couch, watching golf on TV.

“I heard what sounded like an engine rev up really loud,” Krupp said. “I had no clue what it was. Then, it got quiet. Then, I heard it really loud again and then I heard a loud boom. I ran out and saw my neighbors coming out across the street. I looked down the road and saw the plane with the smoke coming out of it.

“I got a little closer and saw a ball of flames and the car next to it on fire, too,” Krupp said. “I didn’t want to get too close because I didn’t know if there was going to be a second explosion. It’s about 100 feet from my house.”

Krupp said the neighborhood is near privately owned Pennridge Airport in neighboring East Rockhill Township, where gliders can be seen.

“You never think an airplane’s going to come down right near your front yard,” he said.

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