Pilot injured after plane crashes in Montgomery County

MONTGOMERY COUNTY (WTXF) - Neighbors became heroes after a small plane crashed in Montgomery County Sunday evening.

The crash took place around 5 p.m. in Whitpain Township when the single-person experimental aircraft hit a tree, landing in a person's front yard on Meade Road about a mile away from the runway of Wings Field Airport in Blue Bell.

The pilot has been identified as 29-year-old Phillip David Beckner Jr. of Crofton Maryland. Through the joint investigation it has been learned that Beckner had landed at Wings Field earlier in the day to visit friends in the area. Upon his departure later in the day from Wings Field, his plane crashed approximately one mile from the runway in the Broad Axe Village section of Whitpain Township.

Neighbors on the block noticed the plane flying low before hearing a crash and running out to help.

Doug Disandro tells FOX 29 he and other neighbors found the pilot gurgling inside a bush and realized his seatbelts were choking him.

Another neighbor, Dave Buck, tells FOX 29 they used scissors to cut off the seat belts before police and firefighters arrived on the scene.Buck, who happens to be Executive Vice President of the Philadelphia Phillies, became one of the few heroes on the block on Sunday.

Thanks to Buck and others who rushed to render aid, the pilot was transported to Penn Presbyterian Hospital for emergency treatment. Beckner remains in the hospital being treated for his injuries.

The investigation into the cause of the crash is being conducted jointly by the FAA, NTSB and Whitpain police.