BEDFORD — Police Chief John Bryfonski reports additional information regarding the crash of a twin-engine aircraft that was inbound to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport late Friday night.
On Friday, Dec. 10, at 11:36 p.m., the Bedford Police Department Communications Center received the first of several 911 calls reporting a plane crash on the shore of the Merrimack River in the vicinity of 14 Technology Drive.
Bedford Police officers responded to the crash site and found the wreckage of a twin-engine aircraft fully engulfed in flames. The Bedford Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire.
The Bedford Police Department secured the scene and notified the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
A preliminary investigation by the Bedford Police Department tentatively identified the pilot and sole occupant of the aircraft as a 23-year-old man from Michigan who was killed in the crash. The name of the pilot is not being released at this time pending positive identification and notification of next of kin.
The aircraft was being operated by Castle Air, based on Canton, Ohio, and was transporting medical supplies. The flight originated from the Essex County, New Jersey Airport and was inbound to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport when the pilot reported engine trouble just prior to the crash.
The investigation of the crash will be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The public is asked to avoid the Bedford Heritage Trail in the area of 14 Technology Drive at this time.