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.

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.