Boston Globe
January 26, 2004

Two hurt in Bedford plane crash
FAA probes why single-engine craft went down

By Jared Stearns, Globe Correspondent

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why a single-engine
plane crashed into the woods in Bedford late Saturday night, injuring the
two pilots on board..

Jim Peters, spokesman for the New England region of the FAA, said the plane
was bound for Nashua-Boire Field in Nashua, but it is unclear where it was
coming from. He said the pilot was in contact with air traffic controllers
at Logan International Airport shortly before the plane crashed.

"The aircraft was headed to Nashua and was north of Bedford when it ran into
trouble," he said. "They were talking by radio when they ran into trouble
and indicated to the controller that they were experiencing some electrical
problems and were looking for an area to land."

The full names of the injured men were not released yesterday. Bedford
police Sergeant Mark Barbieri, who was at the crash site Saturday night,
said the 41- and 47-year-old men on board are both pilots from New
Hampshire.

Richard Bunker, an inspector at the Massachusetts Aeronautical Commission, a
state agency that oversees aviation accidents, said the men were being
treated at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington yesterday.

Peters said the FAA is trying to determine where the plane was coming from
when it crashed. He said the FAA gave the pilot a weather briefing earlier
Saturday from Nashua to Hyannis.

The plane may have been returning to New Hampshire from the Cape, he said.

"We haven't been able to verify that information," he said.

The fixed-wing single-engine aircraft crash-landed in the woods near Dudley
Road around 10:13 p.m., authorities said. Firefighters treated both
occupants near the crash scene before they were transported to Lahey Clinic
with what were described as minor injuries.

Barbieri said one of the victims had a twisted ankle and a cut over his
right eye, and the other was "pretty bloody," with a large cut between the
eyes.

When the plane crashed, the men climbed out of the aircraft, he said. They
ran about 200 to 300 yards to the nearest house and called police. "They
fell out of the sky. How lucky could they be?" he said. "I was dumbfounded.
They ran from the crash site."

Paramedics checked the men and found no broken bones, he said. Both men were
coherent while they were being treated, and did not want to be transported
to the hospital.

The plane, which was destroyed by fire, was manufactured by Rockwell
International and is registered to the Nashua-based company 114 Interactive
Group LLC, also known as 114 Network Solutions .

Dave Taylor, president of the company, said he has no details about the
crash, but that "the plane is in rental service."

He said the men who rented the plane are not affiliated with his company. He
added that he did not know where the men were returning from when they
crashed.

Peters said FAA officials were at the crash site yesterday and would examine
the wreckage and forward a report to the National Transportation Safety
Board.

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
==========
**NOTICE: In accordance with 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.**
==========