Four Killed When Plane Crashes Into East Haven Home

By Fay Abrahamsson, Jenn McCulloch, Julie Weisberg, and Paul Petrone: 

For the latest on this tragedy, please see these stories from the East Haven Patch: 

Neighbor Says He Heard Huge "Pow, Pow" as Plane Crashed
Edward Tracey, who lives near the crash site, said he saw "big, big flames" and was afraid to get too close. 

NTSB Investigators on Scene of Plane Crash; Prayer Vigil SaturdayEvening
Four to six people are likely dead, the NTSB said after Friday's plane crash in East Haven. Comment

Pilot Killed in East Haven Crash Was Traveling With Son, 17
A family friend said Bill Henningsgaard, an ex-Microsoft vice president, and his son, both of Medina, WA, were killed.


Update: Four Killed When Plane Crashes Into East Haven Home
Mother escapes from house on 64 Charter Oak Avenue but her two children do not. Pilot and passenger identified. 


Officials Confirm Two Victims of Plane Crash. At a press conference, officials would not release the names or ages of two confirmed victims of today's plane crash.

Here is our earlier story: 

A small plane crashed into a house on Charter Oak Avenue in East Haven at around 11:25 this morning, and two children who were in the home at the time were likely killed, according to East Haven's mayor.

East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo said at a press conference this afternoon that a mother was home with her 13-year-old and 1-year-old when the plane hit her home at 66 Charter Oak Avenue. The mother was able to get out of the house on her own, according to Maturo. 

The Daily Astorian newspaper in Washington State has identified the pilot of the plane as Bill Henningsgaard, a resident of the Seattle area. The newspaper said his son was onboard the aircraft with him. The information was attributed to Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen, who was with the Henningsgaard family Friday as news spread.

The plane took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and was set to land in Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport, according to airport manager Lori Hoffman-Soares. The plane missed its approach at Tweed but was in communication with the control tower until the crash, she said.

The pilot showed no sense of panic, according to Hoffman-Soares. Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport has since been closed, she said. The National Transportation Safety Board has since taken over at the scene. 

The home at 64 Charter Oak was damaged by fire as well. Fire departments from East Haven, New Haven, Hamden, Branford and North Branford, and possibly other towns, are on scene. 

Gov. Dannel Malloy has since arrived at the scene of the plane crash and is touring the site with Maturo, according to the New Haven Register. 

In 2009, Pilot Bill Henningsgaard and his mother were flying to Seattle when they made a crash landing into the Columbia River, where Columbia River Bar Pilots rescued the pair, the newspaper reports.