2 people die in fiery plane crash at Hancock County airport

Two people died Thursday afternoon when a single-engine plane crashed during its landing at the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport in Trenton, according to the airport.

The identities of the people — who were the only ones on the plane — were not immediately released. The Cirrus SR22 plane appeared to be registered to a company called Miller High Life Aviation LLC of Charleston, South Carolina.

The plane had taken off from Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey and was making its final approach when it crashed around 12:25 p.m., a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said. The case is now being investigated by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board.

A man who works at a business near the airport said that he witnessed the crash, which happened in foggy weather. The man, Sam Wilson, said he first heard the sound of an approaching plane, then looked up and saw what appeared to be an upside down aircraft coming out of the fog toward the runway.

“It was loud,” Wilson said.

He had just eaten lunch in his truck and was getting out around 12:30 p.m. when he saw the plane approaching the north end of the runway — still seemingly upside down — then veer to the east and crash into the grass, just out of sight beyond a rise in the terrain.

“It was instantly on fire,” he said. “There was an explosion, and then a few pops, and then another explosion. Clouds of black smoke were blowing across the runway.”

Wilson said airport staff drove down the runway but stayed back from the burning wreckage. An airport fire truck arrived moments later and sprayed the flames with a mounted water cannon. Wilson shared a photo and video with the BDN, in which a fire truck could be seen spraying water in the direction of smoke.

About two hours after the crash was reported, several response vehicles, including fire trucks, state police cruisers, and yellow Department of Environmental Protection trucks, were visible out on the runway where it happened. A Northern Light Health ambulance also could be seen leaving the fenced-in runway area.

Flights were not allowed to take off or land at the airport while the crash was under investigation. For a time, vehicle traffic was being detoured away from Route 3, where the airport is, and onto Bayside and Goose Cove roads.

Flights were not allowed to take off or land at the airport Thursday afternoon, but the runway was reopened to flights shortly after 5 p.m., according to Leroy Muise, the airport manager. The wreckage remains at the crash site and is secured, he said, but it and all equipment used to respond to it are safely off the runway, he said.

Muise said he expects federal investigators to arrive in Trenton tomorrow to look into possible causes of the fatal crash.

BDN writer Charles Eichacker contributed reporting.