Report Released For Conn. Jet Crash That Killed 2 Mass Doctors

BOSTON — A Boston couple were two of the four victims in a small but deadly plane crash in Connecticut earlier this month. Now, the National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on the Farmington Connecticut crash.

On September 2, the plane, a Cessna Citation 560X, was headed to Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina, when it crashed into the Trumpf building on Hyde Road just before 10 a.m., killing all four passengers on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

A couple from Boston and two pilots from Connecticut were the victims of the crash.

The NTSB report found that the cockpit, cabin, and wings caught fire after the crash, and the parking brake handle in the cockpit and the valve that it controlled were both in the brake set position, forcing them in place.

In the report, one witness said the jet hit a powerline pole, creating a small explosion near the engine before the plane fell behind trees.
Witnesses told investigators that the airplane was going slower than they had seen during previous takeoffs and there was a puff of blue smoke from the backside of the airplane.

The NTSB report found the plane's acceleration values on its way off the ground on the runway were lower than its two previous takeoffs.
One witness said the nose landing gear was still on the ground when the airplane passed a taxiway intersection near the mid-point of the runway, indicating that something was wrong.

Farmington police identified the couple as Courtney Haviland, 33, and her husband, William Shrauner, 32.

The pilots identified in the crash were William O'Leary, 55, of Bristol, Connecticut, and Mark Marrow, 57, of Danbury, Connecticut.

Dr. Courtney Haviland practiced General Pediatrics out of North Shore Medical Center-Salem, a member of Mass General Brigham, and her husband Dr. William Shrauner was a cardiology fellow at Boston Medical Center.

Investigators found no anomalies with any of the airplane's primary or secondary flight control surfaces.

In a Facebook post, the Trumpf company said two employees were injured because of the crash. Police said the injuries were not life-threatening and all of the other employees have been accounted for.

The report says four people on the ground sustained injuries, three of them minor and one of them serious.

Read the full NTSB report here.

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• Mass Doctors Identified As Victims In Connecticut Plane Crash