Two people died in a twin-engine plane that crashed shortly after takeoff from New Castle Airport.
Delaware State Police identified the pilot as 52-year-old Terrence Daniels of Philadelphia and the instructor, 79-year-old Albert Dohring of Middletown.
The Airport operator, Delaware River and Bay Authority reported the crash occurred in a heavily wooded area off Route 7, approximately 2 miles north of Runway 32 at the airport.
The 1965 Beech Baron twin-engine airplane, registered to a Philadelphia resident, took off on Runway 32 at about 8:50 a.m. The pilot notified the air-traffic control tower of an urgent need to return to the airport, a DRBA release stated.
Emergency units rushed to the scene including Delaware State Police, Airport Rescue and Firefighting units, New Castle County EMS, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), and local fire companies.
Two occupants were in the aircraft and both died in the crash. Positive identification of the victims is pending.
BREAKING Update: 2 now Confirmed Dead in a Delaware Plane Crash. https://t.co/vvyxnoXxTk
— Gray Hall (@GrayHall6abc) August 18, 2019
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been notified and are en route The NTSB will be handling the investigation of the accident.
The initial 9-1-1 call came from a motorist or passenger on I-95 reporting a small plane crashed into the woods near the interstate. Traffic on I-95 was not disrupted by the crash.
Aircraft crashes near the airport are rare but not unknown, with one of the last fatality reported in a medical helicopter crash in 2017.
A commercial airline crash occurred in 1947 when a Lockheed Constellation landed short of the runway at the airport and claimed five lives.
The airport has seen little commercial airline service since the 1960s, but is popular with corporate aircraft and private aircraft pilots. The airport is also home to a Delaware Air National Guard unit.
