A small plane carrying two passengers crashed after the pilot had a medical emergency while trying to land on Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, officials said.
The single-engine Piper-46 crashed around 3:15 p.m. while attempting to land at Martha’s Vineyard Airport in West Tisbury, an FAA spokesman told Boston 25 News. A preliminary investigation by the Massachusetts State Police determined that the 79-year-old man piloting the plane suffered a medical emergency while attempting to land. The female passenger grabbed the controls but the hard landing caused the plane’s left wing to snap in half.
The pilot was taken to a Boston hospital in life-threatening condition, according to Massachusetts State Police. The female passenger was taken to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and later released.
The pilot and passenger live in Connecticut and left on the plane from Winchester, New York, in the early afternoon, according to MSP.
A person at the airport told Boston 25 News that all flights at the small airport were delayed due to the incident.
According to FlightAwareat least one plane originally scheduled to land on the island was diverted to Boston.
A passenger at the Martha’s Vineyard airport tells me that all flights are delayed due to some sort of runway incident. Conscious flight shows at least one plane inbound to MVY diverted to Boston this afternoon #boston25 pic.twitter.com/5cuh2mMMrX
— Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) July 15, 2023
The FAA, Massachusetts State Police and the NTSB are investigating the crash.
Video from inside the airport shows flashing lights at the end of one of the runways.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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