A small Beechcraft 99 airplane, destined for Presque Isle International Airport in Maine, met with disaster shortly after takeoff from Manchester Airport last Friday, leading to a severe crash that left the pilot critically injured, as Boston.com reported. In a bizarre twist, the left cockpit door was discovered about six miles from the crash site in Londonderry, New Hampshire, finding its resting place in the yard of a baffled Manchester resident.
According to officials, the plane went down in a wooded area perilously close to human habitation, with Londonderry Fire Chief Bo Butler stating, “He was probably 70 feet from a residence, a single-family residence,” in a news conference, highlighting the narrow escape from what could have been a more tragic event. Despite the severity of the incident, which hospitalized the lone pilot aboard the craft, the pilot retained consciousness after the crash and participated in calling 911 for assistance, as CBS News Boston relayed from their investigation.
The NTSB has taken the wreckage to a secure facility in Westfield, Massachusetts, where they will conduct a meticulous examination to unearth the causes of such a mishap. The pilot's identity remains undisclosed; however, updates on his condition confirm that he remains hospitalized due to the extent of his injuries. Meanwhile, the unexpected discovery of the cockpit door several miles from the point of impact only compounds the mystery surrounding the crash circumstances.
Investigators are now painstakingly collating and reviewing flight track data, air traffic control communications, aircraft maintenance records, and prevailing weather conditions on that fateful day, with interviews and contributions from witnesses, analysis of electronic devices, and any surveillance video capturing the plane's last flight and subsequent crash also integral to the ongoing inquiry. A preliminary report by the NTSB is anticipated within the next 30 days, but WCVB cautions that the final report that will include the probable cause could take up to two years to compile, leaving many questions hanging in the balance for the foreseeable future.
