Investigators are trying to determine what led up to Thursday’s fatal small plane crash in Plymouth.
Eighty-one-year-old Richard Carrara died when the private plane he was piloting crashed into Curlew Pond in Myles Standish State Park.
He was the only person on board.
Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said that about 7:40 a.m., Massachusetts State Police were notified of a small plane that crashed into the pond.
Several witnesses said they heard the plane’s engine sputter before it nosedived into the pond and overturned about 70 feet from shore.
Some bystanders rowed out in kayaks to the fixed-wing aircraft attempting to rescue Carrara.
He was extricated by Plymouth first responders and transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Cruz said that it appears that Carrara departed Plymouth Municipal Airport just after 6:30 a.m. for Martha’s Vineyard and was attempting to return to Plymouth when the crash occurred.
The FAA was called to the scene and is investigating the cause of the crash.
Multiple agencies assisted at the crash scene including state police from the Middleboro, Norwell, and Bourne barracks, the state police detective unit with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, crime scene services, the state police air wing helicopter, and Plymouth fire, police and E-M-S.
Small Plane Crashes in Plymouth Pond