NJ Skydiving Plane Skids Off Runway, Leaves Five Hospitalized
It takes a special kind of confidence to trust a parachute over solid ground—just ask the passengers of a Cessna 208B that decided a wooded area was more landing pad material than the runway at a New Jersey airstrip. Moments after completing her fifth tandem skydive of the day, the pilot’s “flair for insufficient flare” turned a routine approach into a nose-gear collapse extravaganza. The Federal Aviation Administration confirms at least five of the 15 aboard were flattened by gravity in unexpected ways and whisked away to hospitals for varying levels of “get well soon.”
Local authorities, meanwhile, launched a Facebook-worthy crisis flashback, labeling it a “mass casualty incident” on the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management page. You know it’s serious when your county’s social feed sounds like a disaster drill—and engagement is through the roof.
An NTSB report paints a picture so precise you can almost hear the crunch of engine mounts giving up the ghost. Insufficient flare, meet collapsed nose gear; collapsed nose gear, meet engine mounts. This little tango left the fuselage with what investigators politely call “substantial damage.” CBS News reminds us this particular aircraft has a history of misadventure, referencing a July 2023 incident in Suffolk, Virginia, which makes you wonder if the plane subscribes to the “third time’s a charm” school of thought or just enjoys an occasional stunt for kicks.
The FAA is on the scene, investigating like it’s the final season of your favorite true-crime binge. In the meantime, flight crews nationwide might want to double-check pre-landing checklists or consider ground-crew sponsored yoga, because apparently nobody told this craft about the existence of working brakes on trees.
At least everyone managed to exit the drama in one piece—aside from a few bruises, sprains, and the Cessna’s now bloated repair bill. Humanity continues to prove that trusting a scrap of fabric and a limb-straining harness over good old asphalt may be peak optimism. Let’s pretend we learned something today. Tune in next time for more stories of questionable life choices above 10,000 feet.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ.com, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, CBS News, Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management (Facebook)
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
