WEST TISBURY – West Tisbury Police report that on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at 3:12 PM, a Piper Meridian Turbo Prop 6 seat plane was reported to have crashed at the MVY Airport. The elderly male pilot was reportedly having a medical condition upon approach when the female passenger, 68, took over the controls eventually landing the plane on its belly with no landing gear. The female had minor injuries and the male party was extricated from the plane and subsequently MedFlighted to Boston for additional treatment. The Massachusetts State Police and FAA are involved in the investigation.
The airport has just opened the short runway and is slowly continuing operations.
From Mass State Police: At approximately 3:15 PM a small plane crash landed in a grassy area near a runway at Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the 79-year-male pilot suffered a medical emergency upon final approach. His female passenger took the controls and attempted to land the aircraft, which resulted in a hard landing outside the runway that caused the aircraft’s left wing to break in half. Both the pilot and passenger were transported to the local hospital.
The pilot was then flown by medical helicopter to a Boston Hospital in serious life-threatening condition. The passenger was uninjured; she was evaluated at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and released.
The aircraft, a 2006 Piper Meridian, departed from Westchester, New York earlier in the afternoon. The pilot and passenger are Connecticut residents.
The scene has been cleared. The aircraft has been removed to a secure location at the airport.
The crash remains under investigation by the State Police-Oak Bluffs Barracks, the State Police Detective Unit for the Cape and Islands District, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
