5 Years After Tragic East Haven Plane Crash Took 4 Lives

EAST HAVEN, CT - East Haven firefighters Thursday took to social media to remember the five year anniversary of one of the town’s biggest tragedies - a plane crash in which four people were killed.

The East Haven Firefighters Local 1205 posted on their Facebook page the following about the plane crash on Aug. 9th, 2013.

“Today we reflect on the 5th anniversary of this tragic event...RIP.”

On that day five years ago, Bill Henningsgaard was piloting a plane on a trip with his son, Maxwell, to tour East Coast colleges when the small propeller-driven plane crashed into a home near Tweed-New Haven Airport. On the list of colleges to tour, was Yale University in New Haven.

Henningsgaard was coming in for a landing at Tweed in rainy weather when the plane struck two homes, engulfing them in flames. Henningsgaard and his son were killed in the crash.

Two children inside one of the homes were also killed. They were 13-year-old Sade Brantley and 1-year-old Madisyn Mitchell.

Photos posted by East Haven Fire Department