Instructor Dead, 2 People Injured in New Milford Plane Crash

One male flight instructor is dead and two other people have been injured after a small four-seater plane carrying three people crashed at a small airport in New Milford, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration said a Cessna C-172 that left Danbury Municipal Airport crashed at the end of runway 17-35 at Candlelight Farms Airport in New Milford at 9:47 a.m. 

Police said the man who died has been identified as 57-year-old Anthony Morasco, of New Milford. He was a flight instructor at Arrow Aviation in Danbury, according to his obituary.

A juvenile female who was onboard suffered critical injuries and LifeStar flew her to Hartford Hospital. As of Monday afternoon, she is listed in fair condition.

The back seat passenger, identified as 44-year-old Peter Jellen, was seriously injured, but able to get out of the plane and walk 300 to 400 yards to a house, then asked the residents to call 911. An ambulance responded and transported him to Danbury Hospital. He has since been released from the hospital.

The FAA will investigate and the National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the crash.  The NTSB tells NBC Connecticut that an investigator is on the way to the scene.

The NTSB has not released the tail number or details on who owns the plane, but NBC Connecticut has learned through two aviation sources that the plane is registered to Arrow Aviation, which operates a flight school out of the Danbury Municipal Airport. 

On July 30, another small plane owned by Arrow lost altitude while taking off from the Danbury Airport. The 63-year-old pilot, Mark Stern, died.  

Arrow Aviation declined to comment on either crash.

Sources also tell NBC Connecticut that the plane involved in the New Milford crash was the same aircraft that was stolen from the airport during an incident in 2005. In that case, a man and two friends stole the plane to take it on a joyride. It was recovered at the Westchester County Airport in New York.

Federal investigators arrived Saturday morning to continue the investigation.

Friday's crash is the seventh airplane crash in Connecticut this year and the fourth fatal crash.

Dr. Joseph Tomanelli, a Cheshire doctor, was killed in a plane crash at Meriden Markham Airport on April 24 and his 21-year-old son was seriously injured.

A student pilot, 31-year-old Pablo Campos Isona, of East Haven, was killed in a plane crash in East Haven on Feb. 22.

Contact Us