Pilot on way back to New Bedford in Oct. 13 plane crash, preliminary report shows

Pilot Thomas Perkins, 68, and his wife Agatha Perkins, 66, had been heading back to New Bedford Regional Airport on Monday, Oct. 13 when their plane crashed on I-195, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to the report, Perkins told an air traffic controller shortly after an 8:05 a.m. departure that he would be returning to New Bedford Regional Airport. The report doesn’t state why Perkins made this decision.

An air traffic controller reportedly instructed Perkins to land on runway 5 and asked if he would need assistance when he landed. Perkins reportedly told the air traffic controller that assistance wouldn't be neccessary.

The air traffic controller had then provided Perkins with a low altitude alert and an altimeter setting, which Perkins confirmed, according to the report.

The report states that shortly after Perkins’ confirmation he “made an unintelligible exclamation,” and that that was the end of communication between Perkins and the air traffic controller.

The plane crashed about 3.6 nautical miles southwest of the New Bedford Regional Airport, with several trees in the treeline along I-195 noted as the initial impact points. The tops of these trees were cut off around 50 feet above the ground.

The wreckage path continued through the wooded area, across a highway off ramp and across I-195 West, with the fuselage coming to a rest in the highway median.

A post-impact fire had consumed portions of the wings and the tail, but all of the airplane’s major components were found on the accident site, according to the report.

The wing fuel tanks were breached and fuel wasn’t recovered from the remnants of the fuel tanks, though there was reportedly a “strong odor” similar to Jet A fuel, the report said. There were also no signs of fuel leaks.

When investigators arrived at the accident scene on the highway median, the main cabin door was found open, though a witness video taken after the accident showed that the door had been closed immediately after the accident, according to the report. The plane’s two forward seats had both been separated from their installation points and remained in the cabin area.

The plane’s engine displayed some impact damage signatures, though there were no signs of fire, according to the report. All five blades of the propeller sustained impact damage.

The wreckage is currently retained for more examination.