Mayo Plane Crash Update: 18-Year-Old Pilot Was On Instructional Flight

MAYO, MD — The 18-year-old pilot whose plane crashed this weekend in Mayo was on an instructional flight, officials said in a Monday update.

The Federal Aviation Administration released more details on Saturday afternoon's crash near Edgewater.

The FAA said the pilot was the only person aboard when the "aircraft experienced engine issues and crash landed on a road."

Capital Gazette reported that it's unclear what credentials the pilot has, but the FAA allows student pilots 16 and older to fly alone.

The FAA said the Cessna 172, also known as a Cessna Skyhawk, had a registration number of N781FM.

A plane with that registration took several short flights on the day of the crash.

FlightAware records list three separate flights departing from and returning to Tipton Airport near Odenton. The flight times were 58 minutes then 54 minutes and finally five minutes.

FlightAware says the plane then left Tipton at 12:35 p.m. for a 43-minute flight to Salisbury Regional Airport. The aircraft then departed Salisbury at 1:46 p.m. for a 34-minute flight to Delaware Airpark near Dover. The last flight left Dover at 3:12 p.m. for a 33-minute voyage that ended with the plane "last seen at 03:45PM EST near Annapolis."

FlightAware lists the plane's owner as FMFA Inc., also known as Fort Meade Flight Activity Inc.

FMFA Inc. is a flight club at Tipton Airport offering flight instructors and planes for rent. The rental fee was $160 per hour for a Cessna with the same registration number as the one that crashed.

The Maryland State Police said troopers from the Annapolis Barrack responded to Triton Beach Road and Shoreham Beach Road just before 4 p.m. Saturday for the plane crash.

State police said the single-engine Cessna "lost power and made an emergency landing." A WMAR photo from the scene shows the aircraft nose down in a wooded area next to a roadway.

The pilot was taken to the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center in Largo for treatment.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department, firefighters and medics responded to the scene.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board also responded.

The NTSB is investigating.

Capital Gazette said an NTSB preliminary report should be ready within 30 days, while a final report could take one to two years.

Related: 18-Year-Old Pilot Hurt In Anne Arundel Plane Crash: MD State Police