METHUEN, MA (WHDH) – A National Transportation Safety Board investigator says it will look into the “man, the machine and the environment” as it investigates a plane crash that killed a former Massachusetts mayor and left the tail of the aircraft poking out of the roof of a condo building in Methuen.
A home-built aircraft, flown by 73-year-old Al Lavender, the former mayor of Newburyport, crashed Tuesday afternoon into the Prides Crossing Condominiums on Riverview Boulevard near Lawrence Municipal Airport.
Video from Sky7 above the scene showed the plane’s tail protruding through the roof of the building. Officials said it landed in apartment seven on the building’s upper floor.
Lavender was the sole occupant in the plane. While a few people were inside the building, no other injuries were reported.
The NTSB will look at Lavender’s qualifications and training, the engine’s integrity, and the weather at the time of the crash.
Lavender did not make an emergency call before crashing. Friends said he was flying an experimental aircraft that was built in his backyard.
The crash sparked a fire, but a major blaze was avoided because the apartment’s sprinkler system went off, Methuen’s Mayor Stephen Zanni said.
NTSB officials said the plane is in a “precarious” position. Residents will not be allowed back inside because it’s a “dangerous accident site.” The plane’s wreckage is tentatively slated to be removed on Thursday.
Lavender was making test runs with the plane, when officials said it suddenly nosedived into the building.
NTSB officials said there is no black box on the plane, but that they might be able to salvage some information from on board computers.
Investigators are asking witnesses to come forward with any photos or video that they may have taken of the plane.
Officials will remain at the scene for four days as they look at “man, machine and environment” in trying to determine cause of the crash.
A preliminary report on the investigation is expected to be released in about 10 days.
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