Mansfield Municipal Airport Plane Crash Kills Instructor and Student
MANSFIELD, MA—A single-engine airplane crash at Mansfield Municipal Airport claimed the lives of a flight instructor and his student on Saturday.
According to Mansfield Police, Sydney Miti, 31, of Waltham, and Julian Lattermann, 18, of Dover, were killed upon impact after their 2002 Cessna 172S crashed around 12:30 p.m. near runway 4. Witnesses reported multiple 911 calls leading up to the emergency response, which included Mansfield firefighters mitigating fuel leak hazards.
The aircraft took off from Norwood Airport at approximately 11:26 a.m. Miti was conducting a flight lesson when the Cessna experienced a missed approach while maneuvering near Mansfield runway 32, ultimately crashing nose-first into the turf landing strip adjacent to Fruit Street.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials are investigating the incident, with the NTSB determining the probable cause. Mansfield and Massachusetts State Police are assisting in the investigation.
Authorities reported that Miti and Lattermann were the only occupants of the aircraft, which suffered significant damage. Emergency responders cleared the scene around 6 p.m.
The aircraft was operated by Horizon Aviation of Norwood, which declined to comment on the incident at this time.