Two die in Mansfield plane crash

MANSFIELD - A single-engine plane carrying four men nosedived into rocky underbrush just off a runway at Mansfield Municipal Airport after it struggled to take off yesterday, killing two of the men and seriously injuring the others.

The pilot, Lawrence Mann, and Cabot Squire, both of Portland, Maine, died in the crash. Matthew Kramer of Mansfield was airlifted to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and Jared Lamey of Saco, Maine, was airlifted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said Mansfield police.

The 1973 Cessna 172 appeared to accelerate slowly when it began its takeoff roll at about 10:45 a.m. and wobbled as it left the ground, said Aaron Galvin, of Oak Bluffs, who landed his plane on the same runway just after the Cessna took off.

"I said, 'Gee, it seems to be accelerating awfully slowly,' " Galvin said in a telephone interview. "Then, about halfway down the runway it took off, but the wings were kind of wobbling a little bit. It wasn't really a crisp takeoff. It showed that the airspeed wasn't adequate."

The pilot declared a mayday and radioed that he was going to turn back to the airport because he did not think he could clear the trees at the end of the runway, said Galvin and a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman.

As soon as the pilot banked left, however, the plane stalled and crashed nose-first, Galvin said.

"I quickly taxied over to the plane, thinking I could help the people," said Galvin, who was the first person to reach the scene. "But it was beyond anything I could do. It was badly crumpled."

Nikki Witham, a friend of Kramer and his wife, Sam, said the couple have one daughter, Sadie, age 6 months.

Kramer had surgery and is expected to recover, but Witham did not know the extent of his injuries.

Witham was asked to baby-sit yesterday afternoon while the family went to the hospital. She called Kramer "a friendly and outgoing guy, who just likes to be around people."

Witham said Kramer is the brother-in-law of Mann, the pilot. She said the four men were close friends, who were headed to Cape Cod for a day of golf.

Mann, Lamey, and Squire flew down from Maine, to pick up Kramer at the Mansfield airport.

Lamey works in the information technology department at Boston University, from which he received a graduate degree, Witham said. The Kramers moved to Mansfield from Brighton three years ago, she said.

Lamey was listed in serious condition last night at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said Jerry Berger, a hospital spokesman.

A man who answered the phone at the home of Squire relatives in Westport declined to comment or identify himself.

The plane had been rented from Twin Cities Air Service in Auburn, Maine, about 7:30 yesterday morning, said Nate Humphrey, the company's owner.

The pilot who rented the plane received his pilot's license more than a year ago and had rented from the company before, Humphrey said.

Humphrey declined to identify the pilot, but said he was a resident of southern Maine.

"He's a nice gentleman and good customer," Humphrey said. "We have no idea as to the cause or what happened. We'll leave that to the authorities."

The plane, which was certified to carry a maximum of four people, left Auburn with three men aboard, Humphrey said. A fourth passenger boarded the plane in Mansfield, said Holly Baker, an FAA spokeswoman. Neither Humphrey nor Baker knew the plane's final destination.

Investigators swarmed the crash site in the southeastern part of the airport yesterday, taking photos of the aircraft from all angles.

The plane, white with blue stripes along its side, had settled back on its tires.

The wings were partially cracked at the point where they joined the top of the fuselage, and the cabin was crumpled.

Golf clubs could be seen in and around the aircraft.

Fuel from the plane had spilled and posed a fire risk, so rescuers worked fast to remove the crash victims, said Mansfield Police Chief Arthur O'Neill.

"In the interests of humanity, we had to move quickly," he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation, Baker said.

Twin Cities Aircraft is to make a statement regarding the crash tomorrow, according to a woman who worked at an answering service for the company.

Kathy McCabe of the Globe staff contributed to this report.