Pilot dead in small plane crash near Connecticut airport, hundreds without power

Pilot dead after small plane crashes in Conn.

OXFORD, Conn. — Connecticut officials say a single-engine plane has crashed near the Waterbury-Oxford Airport, killing the pilot and leaving hundreds of residents without power.

State police say emergency workers pulled the sole occupant from the wreckage and took him to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead late Wednesday.

Airport officials notified police that they had lost contact with an airplane making a final approach.

A Connecticut Light and Power Inc. spokesman says the plane damaged a power line and a tower leading to a nearby substation. It was not immediately clear whether the aircraft hit them before the crash.

The incident left 5,800 customers without power, but utility workers had restored service to all but 300.

Police say investigators were trying to identify the pilot. The medical examiner will determine the manner and cause of death.

Connecticut Light and Power Inc. is a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities System.