2 Mass. residents injured in air crash
Plane narrowly missed building
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A Massachusetts man and woman were seriously injured in the crash of a small plane in Bristol, N.H., on Wednesday, Bristol police and fire officials said.
Stewart D. Stewart, 65, of North Egremont and Glenna N. Blackwell, 53, of Great Barrington were aboard Stewart's Cesna 177 when the two-seat plane crashed shortly after takeoff at Bristol's Newfound Valley Airport, Police Chief John Clark said.
When fire, police, and emergency crews responded at 3:22 p.m., they found Stewart on the ground and Blackwell trapped in the plane, Fire Chief Norm Skantze said.
The emergency workers discovered a fuel leak and quickly freed Blackwell, Skantze said.
The cause of the crash is not known.
Skantze said the plane narrowly missed a building and crashed into a backyard on Pleasant Street.
"If I compared the plane to a motor vehicle, I would say, yes, it's totaled," Skantze added.
"They're very, very lucky," Clark said. "It could have been a very serious crash if they were 100 feet to the left."
Blackwell was flown by helicopter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., Skantze said. Stewart was taken to Franklin Regional Hospital and later moved to DartmouthHitchcock, he said.
Blackwell was listed in satisfactory condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. Stewart did not give hospital officials permission to release his condition.
"She's had this love of flying for years," Blackwell's neighbor, John Hassett said. "She belonged to a women's flying club in Great Barrington. They do things like take off in a plane and fly to Cleveland for lunch."
Blackwell works for an advertising firm, Hassett said. He called her a "charming young lady."
Stewart is a former pilot instructor at Great Barrington Airport, said Paul Montgomery, a Great Barrington police officer. Stewart is now based at Columbia County Airport in New York, he added.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash with the help of the Federal Aviation Authority, said Dennis Diaz, NTSB air safety investigator.
