Plane crashes onto a Massachusetts highway, killing 2 on board and hurting 1 motorist

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DARTMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — A small airplane crashed straight into a major Massachusetts highway during the Monday morning rush hour, killing both people on board and scattering flaming debris across the interstate.

Miraculously, no motorists on Interstate 195 were seriously injured, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said in a statement on Facebook. A woman whose car was struck was taken to a hospital for the treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to state police. Officials did not provide more details.

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, a town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Boston, the state Department of Transportation said. It partially reopened Monday afternoon.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said the people who died were pronounced dead at the scene. Quinn identified them as 68-year-old Thomas Perkins and his 66-year-old wife Agatha of Middletown, Rhode Island.

A nor’easter was whipping the area with rain and winds from 30 to 40 mph (48 to 64 kph) 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 National Transportation Safety Board said a Socata TBM-700 had departed from the New Bedford airport, and that the agency was investigating the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration said in an email that it could not respond to media inquiries due to the government shutdown.

Mitchell, the mayor, extended his condolences to the loved ones of those lost in the crash, and said he was “grateful that the crash miraculously did not result in serious injuries to motorists.”