A small plane crashed at the Carroll County Regional Airport in Westminster at about 6:40 p.m., May 1, shutting down the runway for five hours, according to Chris Winebrenner, communications manager for Carroll County. The crash caused no damage to the airport and no one was injured, Winebrenner said.
The single-engine plane’s two pilots were able to exit the aircraft on their own and were evaluated by members of the Carroll County Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, who determined they did not need to be transported to a hospital for further care.
The aircraft was a Cessna Model 172M Skyhawk, said airport manager Mark Myers.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, the plane was owned by Washington International Flight Academy LLC, and had departed from Montgomery County Airport in Gaithersburg for a training exercise. The academy declined Tuesday to name the two pilots involved in the crash.
“The aircraft crashed during a simulated engine-out landing and flipped over,” the network’s website states. “Both occupants received minor injuries in the crash.”
The airplane was practicing an approach to the airport as part of a training exercise, according to the Carroll County Department of Public Works; it was a planned landing, not an emergency.
The Carroll County Regional Airport maintains a single 5,100-foot by 100-foot runway, its website states. It is the sixth largest non-military runway in Maryland. The airport averages a combined 154 takeoffs or landings each day, according to Winebrenner.
The last time there was a small plane accident at the airport was in 2018, when the pilots of a privately owned 1977 Piper Aero 3 were practicing maneuvers and experienced a loss of engine power. The plane was unable to gain altitude during the takeoff phase and was forced to conduct an emergency landing. There were no injuries during that crash.
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