3 Injured in Airplane Crash off Rt. 50 in Bowie

Update, 7:35 p.m.: All lanes on eastbound Rt. 50 in Bowie have reopened following a plane crash that injured three people, according to officials. Three lanes have reopened on westbound Rt. 50 and traffic continues to move slowly on that side, according to Prince George's County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor. 


Bowie city officials recommend that residents take an alternate route and avoid Rt. 50 if at all possible. 


Original story, 5:20 p.m.: A small aircraft crashed into a tree next to the westbound lanes of Route 50 (between Church Road and Route 197) in Bowie at about 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 2, DC Metro Fire & Rescue Notifications reported on its Facebook page.

ABC 7 News reported that three people were in the plane—a single-engine, four-seater—when it crashed. 

Two people were transported to Baltimore Shock Trauma via helicopter and a third patient was transported to Prince George's Hospital Center via ambulance, Prince George's County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor reported on is Twitter feed.

The westbound lanes of Route 50 were closed as of about 4:40 p.m., according to the Prince George's County Police Department's Twitter feed. By 5 p.m., Route 50's left-hand "fast lane" was open, ABC 7 News reported.

The incident also was reported on Broadcastify, on the Prince George's County Maryland Live Audio Feeds.

Visit the Flickr feed of Sheldon Smith of the Fairwood Community Association for photos of the traffic pile-up while a helicopter landed.

This is the second plane crash in as many weeks in Bowie. On Saturday, Aug. 24, a small plane approaching the Freeway Airport veered off the runway and landed upside down in a cornfield, but the four people aboard weren't seriously injured, Maryland state police said, Patch reported.