By Erika Hernandez
Apr 25, 2024, 8:38 PM EDT
UNC Health reported that A doctor and a pilot were injured on Wednesday after a small plane crash at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina.
The aircraft involved was a UNC Air Operations medical plane that was returning UNC Health internal medicine physician Dr. Paul Chelminski from a lecture he gave to medical staff at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina. North.
Chelminski was taken to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill and released Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital.
UNC Health identified the pilot as Art Johnson, who joined UNC in 2013. He was taken to Duke University Hospital in Durham and was last listed in good condition.
“Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones, and we are grateful to the first responders who helped after the accident,” UNC Health said in a statement.
Our thoughts & prayers are with those involved in today’s UNC Air Operations medical plane crash at #RDU. We’re very grateful for the emergency responders quick response. We hope for the speedy recovery of pilot Art Johnson and Dr. Paul Chelminski, a #UNCSOM faculty member. pic.twitter.com/krCplkvaMw
— UNC Health (@UNC_Health_Care) April 25, 2024
The accident caused the airfield to close for flight operations, the airport tweeted at 10:41 a.m. A runway was reopened for departure and arrival flights before noon, a subsequent tweet said.
Local television station WRAL’s helicopter captured images of debris on the ground and the plane with “significant frontal and side damage.”
“It seems to me that something happened during the approach or shortly after landing,” aviation expert Jim Crouse told WRAL. “There is a strong vertical component to the wreckage of the plane, which means the engine is dislodged… the wings appear to be damaged vertically as well as the tail section.”
The cause of the accident has not been revealed. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board have taken over the investigationaccording to ABC11.
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