Two Killed in Trenton Plane Crash
Updated
TRENTON—Two people were on board during a Thursday afternoon plane crash at the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport.
“The single engine aircraft had caught fire upon impact and was destroyed,” said Maine State Police Public Information Officer Shannon Moss. “Two people were on board. The pilot and a passenger were both killed. The deceased will be identified once the Office of Chief Medical Examiner can make a positive identification and next of kin is notified. The NTSB and FAA are the primary investigators of the crash.”
Multiple fire agencies and emergency crews responded to the crash, which occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. as the plane was landing.
The crash occurred at the end of the runway on the north side of the airport during foggy conditions. Officials were on the scene throughout Thursday afternoon. Both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. Other flights were prohibited on Thursday. Some were diverted to Bangor International Airport.
The fire was put out at approximately 1:22 p.m. and Bar Harbor and Ellsworth Fire Departments were released at that time. Other agencies stayed to help mitigate any potential environmental hazards in the area. A representative from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection was also in route to the scene.
The Trenton Volunteer Fire Department reported that the town received mutual aid from Lamoine, Bar Harbor, and Ellsworth. The Maine State Fire Marshal, Maine State Police, and Hancock County Sheriff’s Department all assisted. Both Northern Light and Peninsula Ambulance were on scene.
According to FlightAware, a 2015 Cirrus Sr-22 belonging to Miller High Life Aviation was scheduled to land at the airport at 12:30. The plane took off at 10:16 a.m. from Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey and had an approximate two-hour fight.
As of 2012, the airport had only 11 crashes in the four previous decades. Two of those crashes were fatal.
In 1978, a plane crash that killed four Bar Harbor Airlines officials was deemed due to a failure of the Cessna aircraft’s engine’s governor drive shaft. That Trenton crash killed two pilots and the president and vice president of the airline on a drizzly, foggy night.
In 1991, a couple from North Brooklin survived a crash after their Cessna 172-N lost its power. They were injured in the crash and rescued by Trenton Fire Chief Lee Closson and Assistant Chief Herbert Clement in a canoe after being in 10 feet of water in Goose Cove for approximately 30 minutes.
In 1998, Bar Harbor’s John “Budd” Hodgkins survived after his plane lost power and hit Mount Desert Narrows. He had been returning to the Trenton airport when the crash happened. His plane ended up 350 yards from shore in five feet of water.
In February 1943, two civil air patrol flyers died after their plane had engine trouble and went into the ocean off the coast. Lieut. William B. Hites and Flight Officer Welles L. Bishop had left the Trenton airport on that flight. They survived the crash and wore life vests, but could not be rescued in time. Though from New York and Conneticut, the men and their wives lived in Ellsworth at the time.
This story will be updated as more information is released. It was first updated to confirm that the two people aboard died. It was next updated to include a statement from Shannon Moss and the Trenton Fire Department.
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