A small plane crashed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport Wednesday, injuring a doctor and a pilot, UNC Health and RDU Airport confirmed.
The aircraft involved was a UNC Air Operations medical plane returning UNC Health internist Dr. Paul Chelminski from a lecture he gave to medical staff at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Chelminski was taken to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill and is in good condition, a spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The UNC Airlines pilot, whose identity has not been identified, was taken to Duke University Hospital in Durham. The pilot’s condition was not disclosed.
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Dr. Paul Chelminski is an internist at UNC Health, according to a spokesperson. He is a professor of medicine and an adjunct professor of pharmacy, according to his online biography. (UNC School of Medicine)
A WRAL/WRAZ helicopter provides aerial footage of a small plane crash still on the ground at RDU Airport on April 24, 2024. (WRAL/WRAZ)
As a result of the incident, the airfield was closed to operations, the airport tweeted at 10:41 a.m. The plane crash is said to have occurred around 10:10 a.m. The single runway was closed to flights arriving and departing just before noon. A subsequent tweet said it had been reopened for.
local tv station WRAL helicopter Footage captured debris on the ground and the plane with “heavy damage to the front and sides.”
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“It appears something happened on approach or shortly after landing,” aviation expert Jim Krause told WRAL. “There is a strong vertical component to the aircraft wreckage, meaning the engine is dislodged…There appears to be vertical damage to the wing as well as the tail section.”
The cause of the crash has not been disclosed. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board took over the investigation. According to ABC11.
A welcome sign at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in Morrisville, North Carolina, USA, Thursday, January 20, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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According to the FAA, local reports and WRAL aerial footage confirm that the aircraft’s tail number is N228CH and is registered as a Socata TBM-850.
“Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones, and we are grateful to the first responders who assisted them following the incident,” the UNC Health statement said.
