NTSB Reports Touch-and-Go Landings Before Fatal Wallingford Crash

A doctor is dead and his son is seriously injured after a small plane crashed in Wallingford, near the Meriden-Markham Municipal Airport, Monday night.

The person killed in the crash has been identified as Dr. Joseph Tomanelli, 56, of Cheshire.

Tomanelli's 21-year-old son was transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital for serious but non-life threatening injuries. 

Wallingford police said Monday that the father and son were attempting to land in the Cirrus SR22, but officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said it appeared they were conducting touch-and-go landings. 

It was during the second set of landings that the plane bounced, became airborne, rolled to the left, came back down, passed through a fence, skidded into the road and caught fire, according to Todd Gunther, of the NTSB.

Authorities have not said which man was piloting the plane at the time of the crash. 

Wallingford police and Meriden police said they both responded to the scene, which was east of the airport, on Hanover Avenue just after 6:28 p.m. The airport is located near the Meriden-Wallingford town line. 

The small plane went through a chain-link fence before crashing on a berm on Hanover Avenue. The aircraft was engulfed in flames, Wallingford police said during a news conference Monday night. 

The NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be the primary agencies investigating the crash. The NTSB expects to be at the scene for around two days.

Joseph Tomanelli was a physician with Hartford Healthcare and the organization released the following statement on his death:

"MidState Medical Center, Hartford HealthCare Medical Group and all of us at Hartford HealthCare offer our heartfelt condolences to Dr. Joseph Tomanelli, his family, friends, colleagues and patients. We are incredibly shocked and saddened to learn of this tragedy – Dr. Tomanelli was a well-known and esteemed primary care physician in our community for years and will be tremendously missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with all who knew him."

Please follow NBC Connecticut as this story develops. 

Editor's Note: Police initially identified the son as David Tomanelli, but later confirmed that his name is Daniel Tomanelli. This story has been updated to reflect that.

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