The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)
Copyright 2007 Newark Morning Ledger Co.
All Rights Reserved
WINDHAM, Conn. — A small plane crashed yesterday near a highway in eastern Connecticut and caught on fire, killing two people on board, officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and state police said.
FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker said the Piper PA-23 went down adjacent to U.S. 6 near Windham Airport shortly before 4 p.m. The fire damage was so severe that the plane’s tail number initially could not be read and tracked to determine the owner, she said.
It had departed from the Long Island municipality of Brookhaven, N.Y., at 2:52 p.m., she said.
Connecticut State Police spokesman trooper William Tate said the plane was attempting to land on a runway at Windham Airport when its pilot aborted the landing for an unknown reason. The plane turned around, struck trees, crashed near the road’s shoulder and caught fire.
FAA inspectors were working with airport officials to determine who piloted the plane and other details. Tate said later yesterday that officials had determined who owns the plane, but that they do not know if that person was one of the two people killed.
The bodies were taken last night to the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner in Farmington, and their names are expected to be released after autopsies confirm their identities, Tate said.
Inspectors from the National Transportation Safety Board also have been called in to investigate, and were expected to arrive today.
No injuries were reported on the ground.
David Duffany of Willimantic, who was at a nearby store, told WTNH-Channel 8 that he became worried when he saw the plane flying barely 20 feet above the tree line.
As it dipped, he said, he called 911 and began running in that direction. It crashed within a few feet of the road, just beyond the guardrail, within sight of the airport.
“I watched the whole thing. I seen it go down,” Duffany said. “I jumped over the guardrail, I went down the bank to see if I could help anyone, but I didn’t even see anyone.”
He also said he did not hear any cries for help.
Several witnesses said they heard a series of explosions as the plane burned, and fire crews were called to douse blazes in adjacent bushes and trees.