3 people, dog rescued after small plane crashes in Leicester

LEICESTER, Mass. — Three people and a dog were on board a plane that crashed on Moose Hill Road in Leicester late Tuesday afternoon, according to local, state and federal officials.

The three people were extricated from the aircraft and taken to area hospitals, the Spencer Fire Department said in a tweet. The extent of their injuries and their identities were not immediately known. A small white dog survived the crash and was seen being held in the arms of an emergency responder at the scene.

The single-engine Piper PA-46 aircraft crashed approximately three miles northwest of Worcester Regional Airport in Worcester shortly before 5 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

“The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide additional updates,” the FAA said in a statement shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday. “Neither agency identifies people involved in aircraft accidents. The FAA will release the tail number of the aircraft after investigators verify it at the accident site.”

Leicester is located in Worcester County. Multiple other agencies, including nearby Spencer Fire, were also assisting local authorities, Leicester Police said in a Facebook post.

There was heavy damage to the fuselage of the plane, especially on the top and left side as it sat on top of at least one tree. The plane crashed about three miles from Spencer Airport, five miles from Worcester Airport, and about 20 yards from a home.

3 people, dog on plane that crashed in Leicester, officials say

“It’s a beautiful spot up there,” said Derek Niddrie, who lives nearby. “It would have been a horrible disaster for the house and for the folks in the plane if anything did happen, so it sounds like they landed it perfectly in the way they did it.”

Niddrie says the homeowner was away so his driveway wasn’t shoveled, making the rescue a little bit harder.

“The driveway wasn’t fully plowed, so access to the plane was very difficult,” said Leicester Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Tebo. “It was all by foot at first until a couple of snowmobiles showed up.”

Residents on snowmobiles showed up to help the three people on board and the dog.

“I’m hoping the dogs okay too,” said Nora Leahy who lives nearby.

“They’re all talking, conscious,” said Tebo. “I don’t know the extent of their injuries or anything about the plane, where it was going, where it was coming from.”

Even those nearby say they didn’t hear a thing.

“We didn’t really know what was going on,” said Leahy. “We don’t get a lot of excitement in our area. So we started asking around found out that there was a plane crash.”

“Everyone I talked to, no one heard anything,” said Niddrie. “You would think you’d hear it, but I guess it’s just far enough away and snow cushion the sound.”

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