A man has died and another has been rushed to the hospital with ‘serious injuries’ after a small plane crashed on a residential street in Massachusetts.
Officials said a single-engine Mooney M20F aircraft hit the ground on Sam Fonzo Drive in Beverly, on the north-east outskirts of Boston, just before 9am on Thursday.
Chief John G. LeLacheur and Fire Chief Peter K. O’Connor said Beverly Police and Fire Departments responded to the crash, which was not far from Beverly Airport.
When they arrived, first responders found two people trapped inside the four-seater piston aircraft, which had suffered ‘significant damage’.
‘The plane appeared to be resting against a utility pole,’ Beverly Police and Fire Departments said in a joint statement released on Thursday.
‘Two men were inside the plane, a pilot and a passenger.
‘One occupant was pronounced dead on scene, and the other man was transported via medical helicopter to a hospital with serious injuries.
‘At this time, there have been no reports of any ground injuries or additional property damage in the area.’
Images from the scene show the plane laying crumpled against a utility pole, across a street surrounded by leafy woodland on either side.
It appears to be upright with the wings badly damaged. The main body of the aircraft was partially destroyed by the impact.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told the Daily Mail a witness reported seeing ‘black smoke come from the belly of the plane’ before it went down, possibly indicating engine failure.
They said they observed the plane making a ‘gradual left hand descending turn’ before crashing shortly afterwards.
Officials from the NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have begun investigating the crash.
‘The preliminary information we have is the plane crashed under unknown circumstances,’ the NTSB said in a statement.
‘Once on site, the investigator will begin the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft.
‘The aircraft will then be recovered to a secure facility for further evaluation,’ the agency said, adding that a preliminary investigation will be published in two weeks.
‘It’s a holiday, there’s not a lot of businesses open right now,’ Beverly Police Chief John Lelacheur added while speaking with reporters.
‘We’re going to go through footage when we can with the various businesses when they open, bring some people in and then, obviously, do some follow up tomorrow.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the FAA for further information.
Danvers Fire Department and the Massachusetts State Police also assisted local responders at the scene.
The man who died and his companion have not yet been publicly identified.
It comes 11 days after six people died when a small plane plunged into the Pacific Ocean three miles west of Point Loma in San Diego.
The 1970 Cessna 414 was headed for Phoenix and crashed soon after takeoff from San Diego Airport, having earlier flown out from Arizona.
All six on board were confirmed dead by the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday morning. They included the pilot, his wife, and a father with his three sons.
Audio of chatter between the pilot and Air Traffic Control explained that the plane was struggling to maintain altitude in the moments before the crash.
The pilot said he was having trouble maintaining his heading and climbing, as he twice turned back out to shore after trying to fly towards the coast.
He told the controller he was only 1,000ft off the water and was urged to climb to 4,000ft and land at a nearby US naval airport on Coronado Island.
But the pilot said he couldn’t see the airport, and soon after issued a Mayday and lost radio contact with the ground.
Coast Guard recovery crews found a debris field and oil slick and searched the area in a Jayhawk helicopter, plane, cutter, and two small boats.
San Diego lifeguards and Border Patrol assisted with the search and recovery of debris, but found no survivors.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash
