Missing plane found with some survivors
Monday, March 3, 2003 Posted: 4:56 PM EST (2156 GMT)
MONTEREY, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A small plane missing since Sunday night with seven family members aboard was found Monday near Beartown State Forest, state police said.
At least two survivors were with the wreckage in the southwest part of the state.
New York State Police helicopters found the plane, and emergency technicians were being lowered to the site by helicopter. The family included five children, ages 2 to 11.
The blue and white plane is registered to Ronald K. Ferris of East Swanzey, New Hampshire. It was not known if he was flying the plane.
Several jurisdictions were involved in the air search, which was hampered by gusting winds, subzero temperatures and rough terrain, said Police Chief James McGarry of Sheffield, Massachusetts.
State Police Lt. Paul Maloney said the search began about 1:30 a.m. ET within a 48-mile radius of Sheffield.
Flight controllers said the Piper Cherokee Six was heard from about 6:30 p.m. Sunday when it was 40 miles northeast of Stuart International Airport in Windsor, New York.
Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the pilot reported ice on the plane and said he was descending to 2,500 feet. The pilot filed a new flight plan to land at Barnes Airport in Westfield, Massachusetts.
Peters said the pilot called back shortly afterward to say he had descended to 2,200 feet and would land at Great Barrington instead.
The last communication air traffic controllers had was about 10 miles south of Great Barrington.
A family member called the FAA in Burlington, Vermont, when the seven didn't come home. The agency notified Sheffield police shortly after midnight, McGarry said.
Monday, March 3, 2003 Posted: 4:56 PM EST (2156 GMT)
MONTEREY, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A small plane missing since Sunday night with seven family members aboard was found Monday near Beartown State Forest, state police said.
At least two survivors were with the wreckage in the southwest part of the state.
New York State Police helicopters found the plane, and emergency technicians were being lowered to the site by helicopter. The family included five children, ages 2 to 11.
The blue and white plane is registered to Ronald K. Ferris of East Swanzey, New Hampshire. It was not known if he was flying the plane.
Several jurisdictions were involved in the air search, which was hampered by gusting winds, subzero temperatures and rough terrain, said Police Chief James McGarry of Sheffield, Massachusetts.
State Police Lt. Paul Maloney said the search began about 1:30 a.m. ET within a 48-mile radius of Sheffield.
Flight controllers said the Piper Cherokee Six was heard from about 6:30 p.m. Sunday when it was 40 miles northeast of Stuart International Airport in Windsor, New York.
Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the pilot reported ice on the plane and said he was descending to 2,500 feet. The pilot filed a new flight plan to land at Barnes Airport in Westfield, Massachusetts.
Peters said the pilot called back shortly afterward to say he had descended to 2,200 feet and would land at Great Barrington instead.
The last communication air traffic controllers had was about 10 miles south of Great Barrington.
A family member called the FAA in Burlington, Vermont, when the seven didn't come home. The agency notified Sheffield police shortly after midnight, McGarry said.
