Posted on 07/03/2025 11:45:26 AM PDT by CFW
Fourteen people were injured after a skydiving plane crashed at the Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown, N.J.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that the plane went off the end of the runway while departing the airport on Wednesday evening, WPVI reported. The small airport is in a populated area with neighborhoods, stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and churches.
The pilot reported engine trouble before the plane crashed into a tree near the runway, investigators said.
Andrew Halter with Gloucester County Emergency Management said that rescue crews found extensive damage to the plane and many victims covered in jet fuel when they arrived.
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
From what I've read, this happened during takeoff and not while they were jumping. This accident is likely to be a mechanical failure or pilot error..
After a certain age, we very blessed if we have happy memories of the adventuresome things we did in our younger years.
Yes, very true!
I am a former Jumpmaster and Instructor. On takeoff, all the jumpers move as far forward as possible. I have never seen them do anything else.
This crash may have been due to contaminated fuel, overloading, or some other failure, such as improper flap settings. They’ll find out. I highly doubt if any of the jumpers moved around and changed the center of gravity.
One of my friends was killed in the Golden Knights jump many years ago. I heard that the weight transfers had something to do with that.
There is nothing like freefall work. I loved exiting last, then having to dive to catch up with the other jumpers. In a dive one can exceed 200 mph...flying like superman. You cannot beat that thrill.....except for today’s wing suits. WOW!
One of my old jumps, the pilot aborted his takeoff, I had not seen so many helmets go on so fast.
Old skydivers like me have too many stories. I’m very happy I did it.
Retired now for 4 years after almost 40 years of skydiving. Originally trained in the military, both Airborne and Halo school. Was an instructor for 35 years. Been flying jumpers in Caravan/Kodiak/PAC turbines on weekends for about 20 years.
When I was 15 or 16, back in the 1970s, I went on a camping trip to Orange MA. with my uncle and cousins. There was a skydiving school there at Orange Airport. The parachutists would have regular daily displays of their skills. My cousin and I would go there to watch (it was free).
About the third day, there was to be a dozen or so skydivers doing a multiple linkup from about 22,000 feet. When the moment came for the group to separate and deploy their shoots, one guy’s chute came out but did not open, and apparently his reserve got tangled in the non-functional main. Some of the other divers, who had not yet deployed their chutes, attempted to catch him but failed.
We watched him plummet all the way down to where he impacted the ground several yards from the sand filled target area. Two large gray vans were immediately sent out to block the view of the scene from the crowd.
There was one woman watching through binoculars. She was screaming all the while watching his death plummet, but would not look away - which I thought really strange.
That experience sort of ended my desire to jump out of perfectly good airplanes.
I went to skydiving school. I dropped out.
Seriously, it is a rush . The little plane I was in I was glad to get out of it into the open air. Five jumps was enough for me. Didnt love it enough to make it a regular race thing.
A well executed crash injuring only 14 people.
I skydived once in Hinckley, Illinois. Several years after that the same airplane crashed on takeoff killing everyone on board. You never know when your number is up.
That's amazing. My Dad was a bombardier on a B-24 in the Pacific Theater in WWII and refused to even get on a plane after his service until he flew on a 747 with me in the late '70s.
had that thought on my bucket list so on my 79 birthday I went to our local sky diving place signed up and we went up 10.000 feet and jumped or rather rolled out of the plane and free fell for a bit then just glided around was a great experience they explained everything before the jump looking forward to doing it again.
Hope everyone will be OK. š I know where this little airport is.
Way back in 2001 IIRC was walking from the parking area to the Air Show at Randolph AFB in Universal City, TX (NE of San Antonio) on Sunday and The Golden Knights Demo was happening and 1 of the Team the Main didn’t open (tangled/fouled) and I never saw a Reserve deploy. I started Praying and watched as the Diver went into a grove of trees at the edge of the Airfield. Saw the Emergency Vehicles responded instantly.
Never found anything out about Him. I contacted someone here on FR and He couldn’t find anything about it through His connections. I still wonder about the Diver’s fate to this day...
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