Pilot Survives Plane Crash In Lake Winnipesaukee: NH State Police

GILFORD, NH — The pilot of an ultralight airplane had only non-life threatening injuries after his plane crashed into Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire State Police said in a news release.

Authorities said a marine patrol officer was out on the lake around 3 p.m. Sunday when he was flagged down by a passing boater who told him a plane had crashed into the water.

The officer made his way to the scene of the crash, where he found the pilot had been pulled from the water by other boaters near Grouse Point in Meredith Bay, police said. The plane had sunk in some 65 feet of water after it crashed.

According to the release, the plane was around 1,000 feet above the bay when its engine stopped.

Police said the pilot, 78-year-old David Grapes of Central Harbor, was injured, but not seriously, and taken to Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia.

The New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol, Meredith EMS, Meredith Fire and Laconia Fire responded to the scene of the crash. Police said the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the Federal Aviation Administration were also alerted to the crash.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing, police said. Anyone with information is asked to contact Marine Patrol Lieutenant Crystal McLain at (603) 227-2113 or cristal.mcclain@dos.nh.gov.