A twin-engine business jet bound for the Baltimore area burst through a perimeter fence and caught fire during takeoff at Bedford County Airport Wednesday morning, but both people on board survived the crash, local police confirmed. The aircraft had been scheduled to depart around 10 a.m. and was headed to Martin State Airport in Middle River, Maryland, when it went down around 10:45 a.m.
The plane has been identified as a 2000 Cessna Citation CJ1, a twin-engine light business jet with seating for up to eight occupants, according to Daily Voice. FAA registration records list the jet, tail number N600AL, as registered to Shobers Equipment LLC, a company based in Bedford, Pennsylvania. Flight tracking data cited by the outlet shows the plane had flown the same Bedford-to-Baltimore-area route repeatedly in recent weeks, including a trip as recently as September 25.
Emergency crews from Bedford, Everett, and Alum Bank, along with Bedford Ambulance, responded to the airfield, according to AvBrief, which confirmed that local police verified both occupants survived after the jet tore through the perimeter fence and caught fire during the takeoff attempt. WBFF reported that federal authorities were notified of the incident just before 11 a.m., and that crash scene video showed heavy damage to both the plane and the airport fence.
Two Aboard, Both Sustain Non-Life-Threatening Injuries
The FAA confirmed that two people were aboard, and emergency officials reported that both the pilot and co-pilot had non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to Bedford Hospital, per WBFF's reporting. The station noted that its crews were en route to the airport as the situation developed Wednesday morning, and that the Federal Aviation Administration said it would release additional information in the coming days.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an official notice confirming it is investigating the crash, noting that preliminary reports for general aviation incidents are typically released on the next business day. The agency collaborates with local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board during these kinds of investigations.
Runway Length and Airport Operations
Bedford County Airport, known by its code KHMZ, has a single asphalt runway measuring 5,005 feet long and 75 feet wide, sitting at an elevation of 1,156 feet above sea level, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Bun Air Corporation serves as the airport's Fixed Base Operator, managing jet fuel supplies, aircraft tie-downs, and airframe maintenance for the business jets that regularly use the field.
The crash came amid a notable day for general aviation nationally. Less than an hour earlier, a separate crash involving a Lancair IV-P near Hicks Airfield in Fort Worth, Texas, killed its pilot, according to Times Now, which described FAA and NTSB crash investigations and reported that the NTSB was in charge of the Fort Worth investigation.
A History Tied to the Airfield
Bedford County Airport has a prior connection to a fatal crash elsewhere. In March 2011, a private flight that had stopped at the airport later crashed while attempting to land at Custer Airport in Michigan, killing three people, according to Wikipedia. Subsequent NTSB investigations into that 2011 crash found no mechanical failures.
For now, the cause of Wednesday's crash at Bedford County Airport remains under investigation. Whether mechanical malfunction, weather, or pilot factors contributed to the jet's fence-breaching takeoff has not been determined, and the FAA has indicated that more details are expected in the coming days as its review continues.
