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On Friday an Ameriflight Beechcraft C99 Commuter crashed into a wooded area just 70 feet from a single-family home in Londonderry, New Hampshire. The pilot was conscious after the crash and was one of the many people to call 911 to report the crash before being taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Early on Friday morning, the twin-engine cargo plane left the Manchester Boston Regional Airport (MHT) for Presque Isle International Airport (PQI) in Maine when it impacted powerlines, terrain and trees in a residential area. The FAA said in a statement that the Wiggins Air Flight 1046 crashed in a residential neighborhood southwest of MHT at about 7:30 a.m. Battalion Chief Jeremy Mague said in a press release that the Londonderry Fire Department Communications Office dispatched Battalion 1, Engine 2, Tanker 1, Rescue 1 and Truck 1 along with other mutual aid fire and EMS companies to the scene.
Emergency responders arrived to find the plane on the property line with major damage and the pilot entrapped with serious injuries. The Fire Department extricated the pilot in 11 minutes and he was transferred to an ambulance and taken to the hospital. After the pilot was transported to an area hospital the crews shifted their focus to hazard mitigation. A HazMat team was called in to help with the aviation fuel spill control. There was no reported fire but there were about 250 gallons of jet fuel on board at the time of the crash. The NH Department of Environmental Services was also called to the scene, along with agencies needed to conduct the investigation. The FAA and NTSB will investigate the crash. The statement issued by the FAA said the NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and provide any additional updates.
Residents told CBS affiliate WBZ-TV News that they heard a loud boom and started to receive calls from concerned neighbors. Homeowner Eddie Saktanaset told WBZ-TV that he and his wife ran outside and saw the plane in the woods behind their house.
"I was surprised to see a plane crash," Saktanaset said to WBZ-TV. "It sounded more like trees falling down."
A neighbor, retired firefighter and paramedic Brian Croteau told WBZ-TV he ran to the smoking plane while his wife called 911.
"He was banged up badly, and he could only king of mumble at me," Croteau told WBZ-TV. "He was trying to get himself out. We came out and I got up on the plane to see if he was OK to see if I could get them out."
A law enforcement source told WMUR News 9, WCVB Channel 5's sister station in Manchester, that the plane door was recovered from a yard nearby. A man told News 9 that he heard a loud thud and saw the door had landed in his yard, just feet from his house. The NTSB told WMUR that the left cockpit door was found in a yard about six miles north of the crash site. ATC audio released online reveals noise in the cockpit shortly after takeoff and online commentators speculate that the door may have separated during the flight, but there has been no confirmation.
On Aug. 22, 2023 another Beech C99 operated by Wiggins Airways was involved in a crash near Litchfield, Maine, killing both pilots on board. The NTSB preliminary report said the plane completed the first turn of a holding pattern, then entered a steep descent and impacted terrain. The plane crashed on private property in a dense forest, impacting trees and soil. There is currently no indication that these two crashes are related but both are being investigated by the NTSB.
The investigation is ongoing and a preliminary report will be issued about two weeks after the crash. A final report with more information and a probable cause will be released one to two years after the crash.