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During the season’s first nor’easter, a small plane crashed into the wooded edge of I-195 in Dartmouth Monday morning, and its fuselage skidded across three lanes of highway, leaving two plane passengers dead and a driver injured. 

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office identified the victims as  Thomas Perkins, 68, and Agatha Perkins, 66, a husband and wife from Middletown, Rhode Island. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the DA said.

In the crash, the plane hit a car that was driving on the highway. The driver, an unnamed woman, was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, according to local authorities.

The National Transportation Safety Board in a post on X said it was investigating the crash, and said the plane had departed New Bedford Regional Airport. 

Scot Servis, director of the New Bedford Regional Airport, in an email confirmed that the flight departed the airport at 8:08 a.m., heading to Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“Decisions to depart or land are made by the carrier, or the pilot in the case of a private aircraft,” Servis said in a statement. 

“New Bedford Regional Airport’s authority to prevent or cancel arrivals or departures is limited to instances in which the runways are deemed unsafe for takeoffs or landings,” Servis continued. “This typically occurs when the airport will temporarily close to remove snow and reopen once the runways are clear. This morning, the runways were clear and the air traffic control tower was staffed at normal levels.”

Federal Aviation Administration officials will “likely assume primary responsibility for the investigation into the circumstances of the crash,” which occurred around 8:15 a.m., said MSP spokesperson Tim McGuirk in an email.  

Police closed lanes on I-195 in both directions near the crash, which caused a fire.

Images on social media show the plane on its side, with the metal nose mangled and at least one landing wheel down. The registration number, N111RF, was visible. 

 

Federal weather data, taken from equipment at the airport, shows wind speeds reached 18 miles per hour just before 8 a.m. Monday, with gusts up to 35 miles per hour. 

According to arrivals and departures for Cape Air, the only commercial  airline operating out of New Bedford Regional Airport, many of its Monday flights were listed as canceled, including one that was set to depart at 8:15, the approximate time the small plane crashed. 


“I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in this morning’s tragic plane crash in North Dartmouth,” New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said in a statement. 

Mitchell said airport staff are prepared to assist federal officials in their investigation of the crash. He thanked New Bedford and state responders. 

“I am grateful that the crash miraculously did not result in serious injuries to motorists on Interstate 195,” the mayor also said. 

The plane is owned by Easton Air LLC, which is based in Rhode Island, according to the FAA’s registry. The model, a fixed-wing single-engine Socata TBM 700, can seat up to six or seven people. Town property records for the LLC list Thomas and Agatha Perkins as the homeowners.  

Earlier this morning, MSP said that preliminary information suggested the plane may have been attempting to land at New Bedford Regional Airport, and that “it does not appear that the pilot provided the Airport with a flight plan or the number of souls aboard the aircraft.” 

In addition to state police, New Bedford and Fall River police and fire also provided on scene assistance, per MSP. 

The Light contacted the Federal Aviation Administration for comment.