US: Passenger takes control of plane after pilot’s medical emergency, crash-lands in Massachusetts

Boston [US]: A passenger took control of a small plane and crash-landed on an island in US’ Massachusetts after its pilot suffered a medical emergency on Saturday, The Washington Post reported.

The incident took place on Saturday afternoon near Martha’s Vineyard Airport in West Tisbury, Massachusetts. The 79-year-old male pilot suffered the emergency during the plane’s final approach, Massachusetts State Police said. “The crash resulted in a hard landing outside the runway that caused the aircraft’s left wing to break in half,” The Post quoted the state police as saying.

However, the authorities did not name either person on the plane and said both were transported to a hospital.

The pilot was then flown to a Boston hospital in life-threatening condition. The female passenger was uninjured and released from a local hospital, The Post reported citing the police.

The 2006 Piper Meridian airplane departed from Westchester County, New York, earlier Saturday afternoon. The pilot and passenger both are residents of Connecticut, police said.
The state police, National Transportation Safety Board, and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash. An FAA spokesperson said the NTSB is in charge of the investigation.

The aircraft was removed and taken to a secure location at the airport and the crash scene was cleared, The Post reported citing the state police.

The crash happened almost 24 years to the day after a Piper crash killed John F Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette, and her sister Lauren Bessette off Martha’s Vineyard.