08/24/2018 - HANSON, MASSACHUSETTS (PLYMOUTH COUNTY) - Around 1615 hours on the afternoon of Friday, August 24th, the Hanson Fire Department received a 9-1-1 call from a man walking his dog, reporting a plane crash in the area of the Cranland Airport on Monponsett Street. Numerous pieces of Hanson Fire apparatus responded to the scene. The first arriving officer, Deputy Fire Chief Rob O'Brien, reported an airplane had crashed into the water at the south end of the runway and there were two victims heavily entrapped. Two mutual aid ambulances were requested immediately. Two MedFlight helicopters were then requested to the scene. Due to the plane being partially in the water, the Plymouth County Technical Rescue Dive Team was requested to respond as well. Firefighters and police officers worked feverishly to extricate the two victims, one reportedly conscious, the other unconscious. Pneumatic and battery operated hand tools were used to extricate the two victims. First responders struggled through knee deep mud, which was covered in aviation fuel, in order to reach the victims. A police officer used his own body weight to balance the plane so that firefighters could safely gain access to and extricate the two victims. The first victim extricated was carried via stokes basket to the awaiting Whitman ambulance. The second victim required additional extrication, before they were extricated to the Hanover ambulance after being carried from the crash by several first responders. Both victims were flown to separate Boston hospitals following the crash of the single engine aircraft. Unfortunately, the pilot, identified as Scott Landis, 34, was later pronounced dead. The passenger of the plane, his brother Patrick Landis, 29, suffered severe injuries, including numerous broken bones and a spinal cord injury which will leave him paralyzed. The two brothers were flying that day to scatter the ashes of their father who passed away earlier this year. The pilot who succumbed to his injuries was a seasoned Blackhawk helicopter pilot with the Army National Guard. Landis had worked closely with the Hanson Fire Department in recent years with inter-operability of technical rescue teams and the Army National Guard. He was home on leave from active duty in Kosovo due to the death of his father. Just two days following this airplane crash at Cranland Airport, another plane flipped over and landed on its roof after a crash landing. The lone victim of that crash only suffered minor injuries. Numerous agencies are in the process of investigating the crash, including the NTSB, Massachusetts State Police, and the Hanson Police. The cause of both accidents remain under investigation.
