A skydiving aircraft carrying 15 people crashed at Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown, New Jersey, on Wednesday, officials said, sending 14 people to local hospitals and leaving three in critical condition.

The outcome "could have been much worse," said the representative of Skydive Cross Keys, which has operated since 1994 at Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown. It said a Cessna 208B carrying 15 people developed "mechanical issues" at roughly 3,000 feet, minutes after taking off at about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J. (WPVI) -- Fourteen people were injured after a single-engine skydiving plane crashed on Wednesday in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The call came in around 5:25 p.m. for a mass casualty incident at Cross Keys Airport, located on the 1500 block of North Tuckahoe Road in Williamstown.