A pilot crashed a World War II plane once used by the Royal Air Force at an airport in Pennsylvania Wednesday, and was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
The crash occurred at Heritage Field Airport in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, 32 miles northwest of Philadelphia, at about 7:18 p.m. The pilot, unnamed by authorities, was the sole occupant of the plane and was initially trapped in the overturned aircraft following the crash, the Limerick Fire Department said in a release.
Limerick Township officials said the plane took off from Heritage Field Airport for a facility in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, 21 miles away to the northeast. Town officials also said the plane was only airborne for about 9 minutes prior to the crash, according to WTXF-TV.
The pilot was freed by first responders and transported to the hospital. Firefighters put down absorbent material to deal with the fuel leaking from the crashed aircraft. A crane arrived and was deployed at about 10 p.m. to flip the plane over, and fire department personnel ultimately finished at the site at about 10:42 p.m., fire officials said.
Photos of the plane posted by the fire department online show the plane with a Royal Navy color scheme and with the words “Royal Navy” and the letters and numbers “EZ 407” written on it.
The plane, a single engine North American AT-6D Harvard III, was initially designated as EZ 407 as part of the Royal Air Force from the time it was built in 1944 through 1956, according to aviation enthusiast website AirHistory.net.
Between 1956 and 1979, the plane belonged to the Portuguese Air Force, after which it was sold to the Royal Navy. It was then ultimately sold again, this time at a 1994 auction, at which point it was given the Federal Aviation Administration designation N-407EZ, according to AirHistory.net.
The FAA registry shows that the plane currently belongs to a private company located in Pipersville, Pennsylvania, 32 miles north of Philadelphia.
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