New Hampshire man identified as pilot killed in Bristol small plane crash
Authorities on Friday identified a New Hampshire man as the pilot who was killed in Thursday’s plane crash along the Bristol shoreline. (Photo courtesy of Lincoln County Sheriff's Office)
Authorities have identified a New Hampshire man as the pilot who was killed in Thursday’s plane crash along the Bristol shoreline.
John Hall, 54, of Lee, New Hampshire, died at the scene of the crash in Pemaquid Harbor, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Friday afternoon. Hall was the registered owner of the Diamond DA20 single-engine plane, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
His son, Tyler Hall, 21, was the lone passenger in the plane and was able to escape the wreck. He was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the sheriff’s office said.
The aircraft declared an emergency after suffering engine issues, according to a preliminary FAA report released Friday.
The report says the plane then crashed along the shoreline before coming to a rest upside-down. The sheriff’s office said the plane was in about 4 feet of water.
Multiple witnesses, including nearby residents and construction workers, rushed into the water to help after the crash, the sheriff’s office said.
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THE FLIGHT PATH
Hall’s plane — tail number N83RF — departed Brunswick Executive Airport on Thursday and was heading to Knox County Regional Airport when it crashed, according to the sheriff’s office.
The plane took off from Brunswick at about 12:30 p.m., according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. It flew south and circled three times near Harpswell, climbing from about 400 to roughly 800 feet.
The plane then flew east and curled along the coast of Phippsburg, climbing to about 1,500 feet roughly 15 minutes into the flight. At the southern tip of Phippsburg, it turned in a slow, three-quarter loop before heading northeast up the coastline once more.
About half an hour into the flight, though, the plane began to rapidly lose altitude near Bristol.
Prior to the crash, the plane had flown in and out of Maine airports multiple times this week, according to FlightAware. It flew from Rochester, New Hampshire, to Brunswick on Aug. 15. The following day, it made a roughly 18-minute flight, taking off from and returning to Brunswick.
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1 dead, 1 injured after small plane crashes near Bristol
On Wednesday morning, the plane was flown from Brunswick to Augusta State Airport, taking off about an hour later and returning to Brunswick by 11:30 a.m.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
The Bristol Fire and Rescue Department, Central Lincoln County Ambulance, Maine Marine Patrol, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Ocean’s Edge Marine, and Hanley Construction assisted in the response and removing the plane from the water.
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Tagged: federal aviation administration, lincoln county maine, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, plane crash
Drew is the night reporter for the Portland Press Herald. He previously covered South Portland, Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth for the Sentry, Leader and Southern Forecaster. Though he is from Massachusetts,. More by Drew Johnson
