A banner plane pilot from Lancaster County suffered severe facial injuries and a possible shoulder injury when his aircraft crashed into the backyard of a motel in Cape May County, N.J., Saturday.
According to news reports, Matthew Wolf, 25, of Strasburg, was piloting a plane pulling a banner when it went down in Middle Township at about 5:30 p.m.
Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to lose power before it dropped its banner, then skimmed a tree and struck a fence before coming to rest in the rear yard of the Catalina Motel on North Wildwood Boulevard, near the Garden State Parkway. No one on the ground was hurt, authorities said, but the crash caused major traffic delays in the area.
Middle Township police reported Wolf was airlifted to Atlantic City Medical Center. "It appears to be non-life-threatening," said police Capt. Scott Webster said of Wolf's injuries.
The crash is being investigated by Middle Township police and the Federal Aviation Administration. According to FAA files, the aircraft was registered to Paramount Air Service Inc., of Rio Grande. It was a Piper PA-12, fixed wing, single engine manufactured in 1947. Its engine was a Lycoming, classified as "restricted" and was used solely for aerial advertising.
It is the second time this summer that a banner plane has gone down; the first was July 4 at Reeds Beach, N.J. That pilot was not injured.
