Nearly a month after a plane crashed onto a Massachusetts highway, killing both people on board, a report from federal authorities is shedding new light on the incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been looking into the crash of the Socata TBM 700 onto Interstate 195 in Dartmouth on Oct. 13.
The pilot, 68-year-old Thomas Perkins, and his wife, 66-year-old Angela Perkins, were killed in the crash, and a driver on the highway suffered minor injuries.
A preliminary report released by the NTSB Tuesday found that the small aircraft departed New Bedford Regional Airport for Kenosha Regional Airport in Wisconsin. A short time after takeoff, Thomas Perkins radioed air traffic control to say he was returning.
The controller instructed Perkins where to land and asked him if he needed assistance, which the pilot declined, saying he “should be OK,” according to the NTSB.
About a minute later, the controller notified Perkins that his altitude was low, which the NTSB said he confirmed.
“Shortly after, the pilot made an unintelligible exclamation,” the NTSB wrote in its report. “There were no further communications from the pilot.”
The report did not outline the cause of the crash.
Flaming debris was across the interstate, but no drivers were seriously injured. A woman whose car was struck was taken to a hospital for the treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to state police.
In videos shot by people in passing vehicles, a torrent of black smoke could be seen billowing above I-195 from the plane’s fuselage, which was resting on its side. Other rubble was strewn across a grassy median and nearby forest.
The highway was closed in both directions near the crash site in Dartmouth, which is about 50 miles south of Boston, the state Department of Transportation said.
Relatives of the victims declined to comment to NBC10 Boston last month.
The president of Angel Flight NE issued a statement saying that Thomas Perkins was a pilot who brought a number of patients to get medical treatment over the last four years.
A nor’easter was whipping the area with rain and winds from 30 to 40 mph at the time of the crash, the National Weather Service said.
The Massachusetts State Police said the plane may have been attempting to land at New Bedford Regional Airport. Officials said the pilot didn’t appear to have provided the airport with a flight plan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
