Pilot dies after small environmental research plane crashes into Maryland river

BALTIMORE -- A pilot died when a small environmental research plane crashed Tuesday morning in a river on Maryland's Eastern Shore

A helicopter view of the Tred Avon River near Easton in Talbot County showed multiple boats converging around what appears to be the tail of an airplane.

The pilot, identified as 56-year-old Robert Eugene Merlini, from Annapolis, was the only person on the plane.

Police could not say whether the pilot was found in the cockpit or had been ejected.

What type of plane?

According to public records, the plane is a 10-seater 1973 Cessna 402B owned by the University Research Foundation, a nonprofit environmental research organization.

The investigation

Witnesses called 911 and the Anne Arundel County Dive Team pulled the pilot from the water.

Maryland State Police would not confirm reports of engine failure.

"We'll be working with the NTSB and FAA, combing through the 911 calls that came from the ground, from witnesses looking at any communication from the pilot and their control systems to find out what did happen," said Maryland State Police spokesperson Elena Russo. "Was it something to happen with the plane? Was it something that happened with the pilot? We just don't know at this point."

"It's a tragedy"

Data from FlightAware indicated the plane took off from Fort Meade in Odenton around 9 a.m. and stopped around 30 minutes later over the water near Easton.

"It is a tragedy," said Eric Heidhausen, the president of the University Research Foundation. "I don't know who his next of kin is even though I know him."

"I'm accountable"

Heidhausen told WJZ that Tuesday's crash occurred a during ferry flight and research, and the pilot was a contractor.

"I'm accountable to the organization for the safe management of flight operations of our airplane," Heidhausen said. "That's on me. That's the end of the story. I'm waiting for the NTSB on what caused all of this, make sure other pilots can learn from whatever happened today."

About the University Research Foundation

Based in Greenbelt, the University Research Foundation is the home of the Maryland Advanced Development Laboratory, which, according to its website , focuses on laboratory and prototype activities in:

• Aviation
• Computer Science
• Atmospheric Physics
• Electro-Optics
• Digital Cartography
• Radar and Infrared Sensor Technology
• and Atmospheric Sampling

The University Research Foundation owned the Cessna for 30 years and has conducted critical environmental research as far away as Colorado and New York, and contained equipment from the University of Maryland as it monitored the Chesapeake Bay.

The Tred Avon River is home to lots of wildlife and the environmental impact is still being evaluated.

"Today is a really sad day for the aviation community, but also the scientific community," said David Abrams, from the Maryland Department of the Environment. "This aircraft is used for very important scientific work to determine when we're having heat waves like this to ascertain all the data and all the factors that go into it and make decisions about public policy and public health."

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the pilot," Abrams continued. "To the University of Maryland, everyone affected but this. This is really important work that we're doing."