NEW SALEM — Crews convened at the Joseph P. O’Loughlin Pond on Sunday to recover a small plane that had crashed into the water on Friday night.
Petersham resident Jason Scott, who described himself as a family friend of the plane’s pilot, Jeff Lett of New Salem, said his friend was experiencing engine trouble and was attempting to return to the Orange Municipal Airport at the time of the crash, which was called in by a witness at 7:40 p.m. on Friday. The Joseph P. O’Loughlin Pond, where the plane crashed, lies within the Quabbin watershed between Route 122 and the main reservoir, and is separated by a regulating dam.
New Salem Fire Chief Matt O’Donnell said in a statement on Friday that when firefighters responded to the reported crash, they confirmed there was an adult man in the water near Fishing Area 2 off of Route 122 on Regulating Dam Road. Firefighters maintained voice and visual contact with the man, who was identified as the plane’s pilot.
The first responding state trooper was equipped with a personal flotation device and a tether line. The trooper was able to rescue the pilot, who was taken back to shore and transported by an Orange Fire Department ambulance to the Orange Municipal Airport. From there, he was airlifted to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
According to Scott, Lett is recovering from facial injuries. The pilot was the sole occupant.
Divers with AMF Aviation LLC’s aircraft recovery team out of Springfield, Tennessee, use Department of Conservation and Recreation boats to secure a harness on a small plane that crashed into the Joseph P. O’Loughlin Pond, located between Route 122 in New Salem and the Quabbin Reservoir. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
On Sunday, AMF Aviation LLC’s aircraft recovery team out of Springfield, Tennessee, prepares a helicopter with a tether to retrieve a small plane out of the Joseph P. O’Loughlin Pond, located between Route 122 in New Salem and the Quabbin Reservoir. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
A small plane emerges from the Joseph P. O’Loughlin Pond, which directly feeds into the Quabbin Reservoir, on Sunday afternoon in New Salem. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
A small plane emerges from the Joseph P. O’Loughlin Pond, which directly feeds into the Quabbin Reservoir in New Salem, on Sunday afternoon. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
A helicopter hoists a small plane out of the Joseph P. O’Loughlin Pond, located between Route 122 in New Salem and the Quabbin Reservoir, on Sunday afternoon. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
The Federal Aviation Administration begins its investigation into a plane crash in New Salem on Sunday afternoon at the Gate 31 fishing area parking lot. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
The Federal Aviation Administration begins its investigation into a plane crash in New Salem on Sunday afternoon at the Gate 31 fishing area parking lot. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo
To remove the plane on Sunday, Springfield, Tennessee-based AMF Aviation LLC’s aircraft recovery team attached a harness to the submerged 1947 Navion single-engine, four-seat aircraft that was manufactured by North American Aviation. A helicopter was then used to hoist the aircraft out of the water and carry it a short distance to the parking lot at Gate 31, where representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were on hand.
O’Donnell said on Sunday that there haven’t been any reports of fuel sheen on the surface of the pond, which feeds directly into the Quabbin over the regulating dam. The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) supplied the recovery crews with boats to use to reduce the chance of water supply contamination.
O’Donnell added that the 911 dispatchers acting on the report directly contributed to Friday night’s successful rescue. Also on hand Sunday were members of the New Salem Police and Fire departments, the Athol Police and Fire departments, the Phillipston Fire Department and Massachusetts State Police.
