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Two people were injured after a small medical airplane crashed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Wednesday (April 24), leading to a full ground stop of all flights.
The Socata TBM-850 plane is owned by Medical Air and was flying in from Wilmington when it crashed shortly before 10:30 a.m. near RDU Airport's secondary runway, 5R-23L, per ABC 11. The crash caused the airfield to temporarily close for all flight operations.
There were two individuals reported to be on board at the time of the crash, later identified as the pilot and a UNC physician. UNC Health confirmed that the plane was a UNC Air Operations medical plane. According to footage of the crash site taken by WRAL, the front end of the plane sustained major damage and debris was scattered around the field.
After the crash, one of the individuals was briefly trapped inside the aircraft before being freed by first responders. They were both transported to a hospital for treatment, but no other details regarding their condition have been released, the outlet reports.
RDU Airport announced on X (formerly Twitter) just before noon that the full ground stop had been lifted. While the secondary runway is still closed, the primary runway, 5L-23R, has been reopened. Airport officials encourage travelers to check flight status with their airlines for updates.