Cedarville student, family survive plane crash in Pennsylvania

By Avonlea Brown

On Sunday afternoon, a six-passenger plane carrying Cedarville University sophomore Judah White and a few members of his family crashed soon after takeoff near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. All five passengers survived the fiery crash and are being treated for injuries and burns.

Two family members have been released from the hospital but were not identified. However, Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Burn Recovery Center confirmed that Judah White, a cyber operations major from Manheim, Pennsylvania, and his father, Matthew White, were in critical condition as of Tuesday morning.

The plane crashed half a mile south of Lancaster Airport in the parking lot of Brethren Village Retirement Community. A dozen cars were damaged, but no buildings were hit, and no one on the ground was injured, according to CNN.

According to FlightAware, the plane, a 1981 Beechcraft Bonanza, took off at 3:26 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Springfield, Ohio, around 5:19. According to news reports, the family was on their way to return Judah to school following his spring break. Matthew White, the pilot, owned and operated the plane on Sunday.

According to several reports, all passengers were transported to Lancaster General Hospital. Three patients were later transferred to the Burn Recovery Center.

Air Traffic Control received a transmission from Matthew White shortly after takeoff requesting to return to the airport due to an open door. Shortly after the exchange, the plane nose-dived sideways and crashed in the parking lot, according to CNN.

Members of the retirement center witnessed the crash and helped the victims move away from the plane before first responders arrived.

The FAA launched an investigation into the cause of the crash but have released a preliminary statement saying the crash was an accident.