Plane crash along Cardinal Greenway results in three injured

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect new information. 

Delaware County Regional Airport received a call at 10:26 a.m. regarding a plane crash along Riggin Road and Schaffer Road, according to Airport Manager Tim Baty. 

A press conference at 3:30 p.m. later confirmed that at approximately 10:24 a.m. the crash occurred. The pilot, a non-Muncie native, was heading from Bloomington, Indiana, to Muncie. 

The plane was a single-engine aircraft, later confirmed to be a Piper Cherokee aircraft, with only the pilot inside. The condition of the pilot is unknown, but they were transferred to Ball Memorial Hospital, according to Baty. He said two individuals on Cardinal Greenway sustained minor injuries from the crash and were also transferred to the hospital. 

The pilot was trapped in the wreckage and had to be cut out and transferred to Ball Memorial Hospital, according to Muncie Fire Department (MFD) Chief, Daniel Burford.

Delaware County Emergency Medical Services Chief Wesely Miller confirmed at the press conference the pilot was in critical condition, with one of the two injured pedestrians also in critical condition. 

The plane had impacted the west and east sides of Cardinal Greenway and landed in a field on the side of the path. 

The plane was reported to have been circling the airport and appeared to have clipped the top of the trees from flying “too low,” causing the crash, according to Delaware County Sheriff’s Chief Jeff Stanley. The Cardinal Greenway will be closed, as well as one lane of Schaffer, but Riggin will be reopened, Stanley said.

Baty said the plane had missed its runway and was circling back. There was no mayday call from the pilot, prior to the crash. The crash caused a “small fire,” said Baty, that was put out by Indiana American Electrical Power Muncie (AEP) workers before MFD responded. AEP was at the airport doing electrical and infrastructure construction.

The crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. Baty said more information regarding details of the crash will come later.  

The sheriff’s crash reconstruction team is currently on site. Chief Stanley said when the FAA arrives at the crash sight, Cardinal Greenway is expected to be closed for an undisclosed amount of time. 

This crash is the first serious injury crash for the airport in 20 years. 

This article will be updated as more information is released.

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