All five people on a turbine conversion Bonanza survived when the plane crashed on takeoff into the parking lot of a retirement community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. The aircraft cabin was consumed in a post-crash fire. The pilot of the plane, registered to a Mannheim, Pennsylvania LLC, told controllers at Lancaster Airport that he had an open door and needed to return to the airport. The pilot said he intended to join the downwind for the departure runway (26) but crashed a short time later.
It was gusty at the time, with winds at 17 gusting to 30 knots on the runway heading. The aircraft had the Soloy/Tradewinds turboprop conversion. It reportedly damaged as many as 11 cars in the parking lot but apparently did not hit the retirement home. All the occupants were injured but their conditions were not immediately released.
