79-year-old pilot listed in serious condition; female passenger who took over controls not injured
A small plane crash-landed near a runway at Martha’s Vineyard Airport in Massachusetts on Saturday after a passenger took the controls as the pilot suffered a medical emergency, according to police.
In a press release, the Massachusetts State Police said the 79-year-old pilot was making his final approach into Martha’s Vineyard Airport in West Tisbury when he suffered an undisclosed medical emergency.
The female passenger quickly took over the controls and tried to land the 2006 Piper Meridian airplane, resulting in a hard landing in a grassy area near the runway.
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A view of the Edgartown Lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. (iStock)
The hard landing caused the plane’s left wing to snap in half.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the incident happened at about 3:15 p.m., noting that only two people were on board the Piper-46.
Both the pilot and passenger were taken to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital after the crash.
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While the passenger was uninjured and released, police said the pilot was flown to a Boston hospital and listed in a serious life-threatening condition.
The aircraft departed from Westchester, New York, earlier in the afternoon. Both occupants are Connecticut residents.
The plane has been taken to a secure location at the airport and the scene was cleared.
State police, FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the crash, though the NTSB is in charge of the investigation.
Officials with the NTSB and state police did not immediately respond to inquiries about the crash from Fox News Digital.
Nearly 24 years ago, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, were killed when their Piper aircraft crashed into the sea off Martha’s Vineyard in July 1999.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
