Two people were hospitalized after a small private plane crashed at the Portland International Jetport on Friday afternoon, airport officials said.
The small Cessna plane crashed on runway 18 at around 3:40 p.m., said David Petruccelli, deputy fire chief for the Air Rescue Division with the Portland Fire Department. Firefighters extinguished the flames and helped the two people evacuate.
One of the passengers also helped another move away from the plane, Petruccelli said.
The plane caught fire, but first responders were able to put the fire out and provide medical assistance to the two passengers, Jetport Director Paul Bradbury said.
Officials said Friday evening that the two passengers’ injuries were not life-threatening. Bradbury said he did not know which hospital they were taken to.
They appeared to be in the process of departing the Jetport, he said.
It was the first crash at the Jetport in some time, Bradbury said, though he wasn’t sure when the last one occurred. A small plane crashed into the street shortly after taking off from the Jetport in 2010, killing both passengers.
The airport was temporarily closed following the crash and five flights were diverted. Three were sent to Boston, one to Providence and one to Manchester. Those flights will return to Portland later this evening, Bradbury said.
The Jetport reopened at about 5 p.m.
It was unclear what caused the crash, Bradbury said.
“We really rely on [the National Transportation Safety Board] to do the investigation,” Bradbury said.
The plane remained on runway 18 as of around 5:30 p.m., Bradbury said. There was no estimated time on recovery efforts, he said, but said it would likely remain there until the National Transportation Safety Board or the Federal Aviation Administration can review it.
It’s unclear if the runway is damaged, but Bradbury said he did not expect any long-lasting effects on the Jetport.
