A small plane crashed early Monday along a major highway in southeastern Massachusetts during rain and strong winds, killing both people on board and injuring one person on the ground.
Miraculously, no motorists on Interstate 195 were seriously injured, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said in a statement on Facebook. A woman whose car was struck was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to state police. Officials did not provide more details.
In videos shot by people in passing vehicles, a torrent of black smoke could be seen billowing above I-195 from the plane’s fuselage, which was resting on its side. Other rubble was strewn across a grassy median and nearby forest.
The highway was closed in both directions near the crash site in Dartmouth, a town about 50 miles south of Boston, the state Department of Transportation said. It partially reopened Monday afternoon.
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said the people who died were pronounced dead at the scene. Quinn identified them as 68-year-old Thomas Perkins and his 66-year-old wife Agatha of Middletown, Rhode Island.
Massachusetts State Police said the plane may have been attempting to land at New Bedford Regional Airport.
FlightAware reported that the plane was bound for Wisconsin, but the pilot apparently had not filed a flight plan with the airport.
Mitchell extended his condolences to the loved ones of those lost in the crash and said he was “grateful that the crash miraculously did not result in serious injuries to motorists.”
A nor’easter was whipping the area with rain and winds from 30 to 40 mph at the time of the crash, the National Weather Service said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said a Socata TBM-700 had departed from the New Bedford airport and that the agency was investigating the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration said in an email that it could not respond to media inquiries due to the government shutdown.
The lack of a filed flight plan raises questions about whether the pilot followed proper procedures before departure, potentially complicating investigators’ ability to establish the intended route and assess whether weather-related decision-making contributed to the crash.
The Socata TBM-700 is a high-performance single-engine turboprop aircraft capable of flying at high altitudes and speeds, typically used for business and personal aviation. The aircraft’s complexity requires extensive pilot training and experience.
The crash’s proximity to New Bedford Regional Airport suggests the pilot may have been attempting an emergency landing or return to the airport after encountering difficulties, possibly related to the severe weather conditions.
Nor’easters create particularly hazardous flying conditions with low visibility, strong crosswinds, turbulence, and icing potential, making them among the most dangerous weather systems for small aircraft operations in the Northeast.
The timing of the crash during morning rush hour on a major interstate highway could have resulted in catastrophic casualties among motorists had the aircraft struck occupied vehicles directly rather than landing in a way that minimized ground impact.
