The pilots -- Jared S. Hostetter, 24, of East Lampeter Township, and Bryon C. Wetzler, 42, of Conoy Township -- escaped the wrecked 1973 Piper twin-engine plane uninjured.

The 7:20 p.m. mishap stunned residents of Starlite Drive, who stepped out of their homes and discovered an aircraft in the middle of their street. Some of the residents helped the pilots to safety as fuel leaked onto the street.

Federal Aviation Administration investigators interviewed the men and inspected the plane Thursday night.

Investigators determined the plane took off about 7:15 p.m. from Smoketown Airport. The men planned to practice navigation techniques.

Wetzler was flying the plane when one of its engines failed about a half- mile west of the runway. Hostetter took over the controls and shut off the second engine, according to East Lampeter Township police Officer Brian Kondras.

Hostetter steered the plane into a cornfield, landing about 50 yards from the intersection of Starlite Drive and Sunlight Circle.

The plane continued west through the cornfield, skidded across a lawn and into the street before spinning 180 degrees and stopping in the 2300 block of Starlite Drive.

The crash bent the plane's propellers. The Piper was loaded onto a tow truck shortly after 11 p.m. and returned to Smoketown Airport, where FAA investigators will try to determine why its engine failed.

Carl L. Charles, 39, heard the plane scrape the macadam from inside his house.

He ran about 30 feet from the front door to reach Hostetter and Wetzler as they started to climb out.

"I was in shock," Charles said. "It's incredible that they didn't crash into any homes or get hurt."

Firefighters moved a group of residents away from the wreckage after determining the spilled fuel could ignite. The plane was sprayed with foam to prevent a fire, said Witmer Fire Company Deputy Chief Matthew Bono.

Duane Hespell, 41, was driving his car on Starlite Drive as the plane came to a stop.

"Just out of nowhere there was a plane crashed in my street," Hespell said. "If I was three minutes earlier, the plane would've hit my car."

The plane sideswiped a tree in front of Patricia Picknell's home. The tree is about 20 feet from the house.

Picknell was watching television when she heard the crash.

"I thought it was thunder. Then I looked outside and saw a plane," Picknell said. "God was in control. There is no other way it would've missed my house."

Picknell and several other Starlite Drive residents said plane crashes are a daily concern because of their proximity to the airport.

"I've lived here 20 years and thought that someday this may happen," Picknell said. "It's like a bad dream."

Hostetter and Wetzler are both FAA- licensed pilots.

Hostetter is certified as an airline transport pilot with commercial privileges. He also is a flight instructor.

Wetzler, co-owner of the plane, is certified to fly single, multiple and instrumental aircraft. The plane is flown about once a week.

Smoketown Airport owner Melvin Glick said Thursday night that both pilots are "top-notch."

"These guys are always careful," Glick said. "Both have a fair amount of experience and did an amazing job to stay in control of the plane as it came down."