NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Authorities are investigating after a small Cessna 150 plane crashed in a cemetery in New Bedford Monday afternoon, killing the pilot.
According to the FAA, the plane crashed into the Rural Cemetery on Rockdale Avenue and Grape Street around 3 p.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot, who was the only person on board, did not survive.
The plane took off from New Bedford Regional Airport, about five miles away, shortly before. Witnesses said the plane flew very low at times, and was circling and making loops before it crashed.
State Police, as well as local police and firefighters, responded to the scene.
One witness, a construction worker named Clyde, told WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe he saw the plane flying low shortly before it crashed.
"What I saw was the plane, low, banking to the left," he said. "I was cutting wood. The gentleman next door who was taking care of his grapevines asked me if I saw the plane, 'cause I had my saws running. He saw it bank and nosedive."
Jose Aubreu described the wreckage strewn about the crash scene.
"It seems like one big piece was stacked on top of this giant headstone, but then there was other pieces, there's a tree that was demolished there," Aubreu said. "It's bad."
The cause of the crash was not yet known. The NTSB is investigating.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
(Photo: WBZ-TV)
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