An aircraft attempting to take off yesterday morning ran off the runway and crashed through a fence before catching on fire in a field at the Bellefonte Airport in Benner Township.

The plane, a Piper Malibu, which seats six passengers, was filled to capacity when the crash occurred.

The State College Police Department said no one was injured and all of the passengers were able to get out of the aircraft before it caught on fire.

Jeff Elnitski, whose parents own the Bellefonte airport, said the aircraft was owned and piloted by private owners from the area who kept it in a hangar at the airport.

He said he was at the airport yesterday at about 11 a.m. when the plane crashed, but he did not see or hear the accident. Elnitski said the airport was alerted of the crash by neighbors.

The plane now sits in a field behind houses awaiting investigation into why it failed to take off.

The road is blocked off about 100 feet around the site, but the top of the plane can be seen above the weeds.

The exterior, charred from flames, is torn open and exposed.

At its resting place, the aircraft faces the opposite direction that it would have been flying had the takeoff been successful.

Elnitski said pilots announce when they plan to take off or land and make sure the airspace is clear before flight.