The single-engine plane that crashed in a Hilltown neighborhood Thursday evening, killing two aboard — including the plane’s owner — was an instructional flight, according to National Transportation Safety Board investigators.
At least one of the people on board had a private pilot’s license and was training for a commercial license, the NTSB said.
NTSB investigators were in the neighborhood at Brittany and Victoria lanes Friday collecting information and examining what is left of the aircraft, agency spokesman Keith Holloway said.
One of the dead was identified as Brian Filippini, 55, of Philadelphia, who is listed in FAA records as the registered owner of the four-seat 1965 Beechcraft 35-C33.
‘It was like nothing I’ve ever seen’: Hilltown residents recall plane crash that killed two
It is unknown if Filippini was flying the plane at the time of the crash. The Bucks County Coroner’s office had not yet confirmed the identities of the dead as of Friday afternoon.
This news organization spoke to a family member while attempting to contact Filippini on Friday. He confirmed the death, but declined further comment.
NTSB investigators will also gather radar data, weather information, aircraft control communications, maintenance records and pilot medical records. They will speak to witnesses and review raw video posted on social media.
Doorbell video cameras captured the fiery crash, which occurred shortly before 5 p.m. in the development of single family homes located near a Pennridge middle school.
In raw video posted on social media, the sound of an engine sputtering can be heard seconds before the plane dropped out of the sky and exploded, sending thick black smoke cloud over the neighborhood.
The plane took off from Wings Field Airport, a general aviation airport in Blue Bell, Montgomery County, at 4:13 p.m. Thursday and landed at the Doylestown Airport nine minutes later, according to FlightAware.com, a flight tracking website.
At 4:26 p.m. the plane departed Doylestown headed to Gunden Airport, a privately owned airport outside of Sellersville, according to the website. The FAA confirmed in a statement the plane took off from Doylestown headed to Gunden.
The plane crashed just yards from a home. No injuries were reported on the ground and no homes were involved in the crash, but the plane struck an unoccupied vehicle, Bucks County spokesman James O’Malley said. There was also some damage from debris to nearby homes, said Hilltown police Chief Chris Engelhart.
On Friday morning, the scorched remains of the plane remained on the corner, underneath a charred street sign and surrounded by caution tape and a barrier meant to contain any fuel spill.
A preliminary accident report should be available next month, but it will not include a cause, which is part of the final report, which typically takes 12 to 24 months to complete.
The plane was last flown on Sunday, where it took off from Wings Field shortly before 10:30 a.m. and returned to the airport about 90 minutes later, according to FlightAware.com. Records show that Filippini purchased the aircraft in January 2019.
