Skydiver Ready To Jump Again After South Jersey Plane Crash

MONROE, NJ — One of the passengers injured when a small skydiving plane crashed into a wooded area at Cross Keys Airport earlier this month recounted the crash in a recent interview and said he is ready to jump again.

Aleh Shamko was one of 14 people hospitalized after the single-engine Cessna 208B plane approached the runway fast, ran off the asphalt and crashed into a wooded area on July 2.

"The last thing I remember is two seconds before it happened, I realized, ‘Oh my God, we are moving too fast on the runway,'" Shamko told NJ Advance Media. “I knew we’re gonna be in trouble in like two seconds and then it happened. I remember a loud sound."

He continued, "I appeared outside of the plane. No idea how it happened."

Shamko's leg was badly mangled in the crash, he told the publication. But after seven surgeries, he's on the mend and already planning his next sky dive.

"The doctors did a great job on putting it together. It doesn’t look great still, but it’s there,” he said of his leg. "And I’m going to walk and jump again soon."

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary findings on the plane crash that injured 15 people.

The aircraft — a single-engine Cessna 208B — departed at 5:14 p.m. that day. As the plane gained altitude, one of its pilots reported a loss of engine power, the NTSB said. It was 3,000 feet above sea level at that point.

The pilot attempted to glide the airplane back to Runway 27. But the plane continued past the runway and jetted through a wooded area.

"The airplane approached the runway fast, floated, and touched down near the end," the three-page report says. "It traveled off the end of the runway and collided with trees about 700 ft beyond the runway. It then traveled about 250 ft through the trees, coming to rest upright."

Twelve people suffered serious injuries in the crash. Neither pilot could initially provide a statement to investigators because of their injuries, the NTSB said.

The wings and the plane's main body showed substantial damage, while three of four propellers separated during the crash. But the pilots' five-point harnesses and all 17 harnesses on the bench seats remained intact, the NTSB said.

Rescue personnel cut some of the harnesses to extricate victims.

After a cursory examination of the TPE331 engine, it's unclear what caused it to fail, the NTSB said. It was prepared for shipment to a manufacturing facility for further teardown examination.

The airplane had one prior flight that day, taking off at 4:23 p.m. for an "uneventful" 18-minute flight, the NTSB said.

Before the first flight, the plane was fueled with 44.9 gallons, bringing its fuel load to 800 pounds. It began the accidental flight with 700 pounds of fuel, the NTSB said.

A malfunctioning display was recovered from the cockpit.

Although no deaths were reported, the crash was labeled a mass-casualty incident because of the number of injured victims and the strain on local first-responding resources.

The plane was owned by Arne Aviation LLC and was leased to Skydive Cross Keys in Gloucester County.

The NTSB's report is only preliminary, and the agency tried to complete investigations within two years of an incident.