Skydive Cross Keys said in a statement that the aircraft developed "mechanical issues" at roughly 3,000 feet after takeoff.

The plane, a Cessna 208B, had engine trouble minutes after taking off from a small airport in Gloucester County, officials said. Three people were critically injured.

The skydiving plane that crashed early Wednesday evening at Cross Keys Airport experienced midair “mechanical issues” and made an emergency landing on the runway but was unable to stop and plowed into the nearby woods, the company that operates the plane said Thursday.