It was just after midday on a Tuesday in September 2023 when the quiet of a Dartmouth, Massachusetts neighborhood was shattered. Most people were probably thinking about lunch or their afternoon errands. Then, a small Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II came down. It didn’t hit a house, thankfully. Instead, it crashed into an apple orchard at Hawthorn Hill on Hixville Road.
If you've ever flown in a small prop plane, you know the engine sound is a constant, reassuring hum. When that hum stops or stutters, your stomach drops. That’s essentially what happened here. The pilot, a 73-year-old man, was trying to make it back to New Bedford Regional Airport. He didn't make it.
The plane crash Dartmouth MA incident isn't just a local headline from a couple of years ago. It’s a case study in aviation safety, pilot decision-making, and the sheer luck of geography. Had that plane been a few hundred yards in another direction, we might be talking about a residential tragedy instead of a survival story.
The Timeline of the Hixville Road Descent
Airplanes don't just "fall" out of the sky without a reason. Usually, it's a sequence of events—the "Swiss cheese model" where the holes in the cheese line up.
The flight originated from New Bedford Regional Airport (EWB). It was a routine trip. The weather wasn't particularly nasty, though New England weather is always its own beast. Around 12:20 PM, the Dartmouth Police started getting the calls.
Imagine being the first responder. You’re told a plane is down. You expect a fireball. Instead, you find a white and blue Piper crumpled among apple trees. The impact was violent enough to destroy the aircraft's front end and wings, yet the cockpit remained relatively intact. Honestly, looking at the wreckage photos, it's a miracle the pilot walked away—well, he didn't walk away, he was airlifted, but he survived.
Why the Apple Orchard Mattered
Location is everything. The Hawthorn Hill property is an old farm. If you're going to have an engine failure, an open field or an orchard is your best-case scenario. The trees, while they destroyed the plane, actually acted as energy absorbers. They slowed the deceleration.
Physics is brutal. $F = ma$. By hitting the trees, the "a" (acceleration/deceleration) was spread out over a longer distance than if the plane had hit a brick wall or a paved street. This likely saved the pilot's life.
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What the NTSB Investigation Actually Found
People love to speculate. "He ran out of gas," or "The engine was old." But we have to look at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) data.
The preliminary report indicated that the pilot reported engine issues shortly before the descent. When an engine loses power in a Piper Warrior, you become a very expensive glider. You have a "best glide speed"—usually around 73 knots for this airframe—and you have to pick a spot. Fast.
- Mechanical Check: Investigators looked at the fuel system and the spark plugs.
- The "Carb Ice" Factor: Even on a day that feels warm, icing can happen in the carburetor of these older engines. It chokes the air supply.
- Fuel Management: They always check if there was "usable fuel" in the tanks.
According to the NTSB's final analysis of the plane crash Dartmouth MA, the engine suffered a total loss of power. The pilot, realizing he couldn't maintain altitude to clear the trees and reach the runway, opted for the most "landable" spot he could see.
The Reality of General Aviation Safety in Massachusetts
Southeastern Massachusetts is a high-traffic area for small planes. You have New Bedford, Plymouth, and Taunton all within a short hop.
Most people see a small plane and think "death trap." That's not really fair. These planes are inspected every 100 hours of flight time or at least once a year (the Annual). But things break. Metal fatigues.
In this specific Dartmouth incident, the pilot was experienced. He wasn't a student pilot on a first solo. He knew the terrain. That matters because an inexperienced pilot might have tried to "stretch the glide"—pulling the nose up to reach the airport—which leads to an aerodynamic stall and a fatal spin. This pilot kept the nose down, kept his airspeed up, and flew the plane all the way into the crash.
"Always fly the airplane until it stops moving." That's the golden rule. He followed it.
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Common Misconceptions About the Dartmouth Crash
I've seen some weird theories online. Let's clear some up.
Myth: The plane hit a house.
False. It was close, but it stayed in the orchard. The residential area along Hixville Road is dense, but the pilot managed to steer clear of the rooftops.
Myth: The pilot was untrained.
Actually, the pilot held a private pilot certificate and had been flying for years. The PA-28 is one of the most common training aircraft in the world. It’s basically the Toyota Corolla of the sky.
Myth: It was a "crash landing."
Technically, it was an "off-field landing" or "forced landing." A crash is uncontrolled. This was controlled, just not on a runway.
Lessons for Local Pilots and Residents
If you live near an airport like New Bedford, you should know that pilots are trained for this exact scenario from day one. They spend hours practicing "simulated engine failures."
- Engine Out Procedures: Every pilot has a checklist memorized: Airspeed, Best place to land, Checklist (Fuel on? Mags on? Carb heat?), Radio (7700 on the transponder).
- Community Awareness: Residents often complain about noise, but the open spaces—the farms and parks—are vital safety valves for the community. Preserving them saves lives, quite literally.
The plane crash Dartmouth MA served as a wake-up call for local maintenance shops too. When a crash happens locally, every mechanic at EWB is double-checking their work the next morning. It’s a sobering reminder that a loose bolt or a clogged fuel line has real-world consequences.
The Aftermath at Hawthorn Hill
The plane was eventually hauled away by a crane and a flatbed. The orchard has mostly recovered, though I’m sure a few apple trees have some scars.
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The pilot faced a long recovery but survived. That’s the "win" here. In aviation, any landing you walk away from is a good one. Any landing where they can reuse the airplane is a great one. This was a "good" one by the narrowest of margins.
When we look back at the plane crash Dartmouth MA, we should see it as a testament to pilot training. Engines fail. Machines break. But the training to put a failing machine into a grove of trees instead of a living room is what prevents a bad day from becoming a community catastrophe.
Practical Steps Following an Aviation Incident
If you are ever a witness to something like this, there’s a protocol. First, call 911—obviously. But stay back. Small planes are full of high-octane leaded fuel (100LL) and, sometimes, ballistic parachute canisters that can explode if handled wrong.
For those interested in the official records, the NTSB keeps a public database (CAROL). You can search for the Dartmouth incident by the date (September 2023) or the tail number of the aircraft. Reading those reports is the best way to move past the rumors and see the hard data on what failed and why.
If you're a student pilot at a school like Colonial Air or any of the clubs at EWB, use this incident for your "ground school" discussions. Analyze the glide path. Look at the winds that day. Could he have made the runway with a tailwind? Maybe. But he made the right call to put it down when he did.
Check the NTSB's final report for specific engine component teardowns if you're a gearhead. It's fascinating, if a bit grim, to see how a single mechanical failure propagates through a flight. Safe flying starts with learning from the guy who had a really, really bad Tuesday in Dartmouth.
Next Steps for Residents and Pilots:
- Review Local Flight Paths: Check the noise abatement and safety corridors for New Bedford Regional Airport to understand where planes are supposed to be.
- Monitor NTSB Reports: Use the NTSB's "Monthly Accident Reports" to stay informed on regional aviation safety trends in New England.
- Emergency Contact: Keep the Dartmouth Police Department's non-emergency line saved for reporting low-flying aircraft or safety concerns that don't require an immediate 911 response.