Crime & Safety

Local Man Killed, Three Injured in Massachusetts Plane Crash

Plane was headed to Macarthur Airport before crash landing on Sunday.

A Stony Brook man was killed and three more people were injured in a plane crash in Leverett, Mass., when their Macarthur-bound plane suffered engine failure and attempted to make an emergency landing on Sunday, according to police reports.

Robert E. Lothrop, 62, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Police said passenger William Scheley of Miller Place and pilot Matthew Wilding of Stony Brook were taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., first by ambulance and then by medical helicopter.

A hospital spokeswoman said Scheley is listed in critical condition at the hospital, while Wilding is in good condition and Dayna Dicamillo, a third passenger aboard the plane who is from Stoddard, N.H., is in fair condition as of midnight on Tuesday.

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Police also believed a dog was aboard the plane, but could not be located after the crash.

The single-engine Cessna, registered to Airborne Maintenance Inc. in Ronkonkoma, was bound for Long Island Macarthur Airport after departing from Keene, N.H. Police said the plane lost engine power and the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing in an open field, but the plane hit a power line and crashed.

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A spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police said late Monday night that an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board is continuing.

Nick Sambides Jr. contributed to this report.

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.


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