A plane crash happened this morning at Taunton Municipal Airport, leaving two of its on-board people dead - the Bristol district of attorney's office have tentatively identified the two as John Schmouth, the 69-year-old Brockton pilot, and Roland Deslauriers, the 61-year-old Bridgewater passenger.
Earlier reports stated that the plane which took off at around 6:30 a.m. crashed a few minutes later into a gulley across the runway, dismantled, and was consumed by flames consequently.
"Although next of kin notifications have been made and investigators believe they have identified both victims, the confirmed identities of the two victims will not officially be known until the Medical Examiner's Office conducts autopsies on the remains," Gregg Miliote, the spokesman of the office, said, adding that no other person was injured or got involved in the Taunton plane crash.
According to Taunton Police Lieutenant Robert Casey, they received a phone call at around 6:30 a.m. saying the plane had crashed.
National Transpiration Safety Board spokesperson Keith Holloway said that the police investigators are going to inspect the maintenance records of the engine granting that it is an Aeronca 7AC, a 1945 small plane model.
Keith added that they will also look for possible wreckage evidence as well as trajectory trouble data.
Taunton Municipal Airport Commission commissioner James Madigan said that when he arrived on the scene, the Taunton Fire Department members were already extinguishing the flames.
"At this point it just looks like a horrible accident, just a terrible tragedy," said Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. "My heart goes out to the family. It's a tragedy. This is the first tragedy we've had here in recent memory."
The cause of the accident is still unclear as of late, said spokesperson of the Federal Aviation Administration Kathleen Bergen. The on-going investigation involves the Local and State Police, the Taunton Fire Department, and the FAA and MassDOT Aeronautics.
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