Fatal Plane Crash at Bangor Airport Kills Italian Pilot Amid Crosswind Challenges

Sep. 2—The plane that crashed at Bangor International Airport last month bounced on the runway before hitting a light, rising back into the air, crashing into a fence and tumbling across the ground, federal officials said Tuesday.

The crash killed Luigi Accusani, 74, an Italian pilot who was ferrying the single-engine Cessna A185F from Europe, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

No one else was on board when the plane crashed on Aug. 24. It was the first fatal crash ever reported at the airport, which opened more than 50 years ago.

Tuesday's preliminary report does not point to a specific cause for the crash.

View this document on Scribd

A Federal Aviation Administration employee who saw the crash said the plane's left wing got "very close to the pavement" as Accusani attempted to land, according to the report.

"He seemed to have tried to correct himself, however there was a crosswind blowing east," the witness told the FAA, according to the report.

At that point, the craft veered left, crashing into a light used to show pilots the optimal angle of approach when landing. Then, the witness said, the airplane "picked back up into the air" and flew "sideways in an arcing motion" before hitting the airport perimeter fence and cartwheeling across the ground.

A few minutes prior to the crash, Accusani requested a wind check and was told it was blowing at 14 knots (16 mph), with gusts up to 19 knots (22 mph), according to the report. Wind speeds at the airport shortly before and after the crash were about 10 knots (11.5 mph), with gusts up to 19 knots (22 mph), according to the report.

Accusani crashed shortly after 1:21 p.m., less than 10 minutes after the Bangor air traffic control tower gave him clearance to land.

At 1:16 p.m., the controller had asked Accusani to clarify his intentions.

"I'm doing a liftoff," Accusani replied, followed by something unintelligible.

An aviation expert who spoke with the Press Herald immediately after the crash hypothesized that Accusani was performing a "go-around" maneuver, in which a pilot aborts a landing by touching down briefly, then immediately taking off again to circle around and attempt another landing.

The plane was headed for Rutland, Vermont, and was stopping in Bangor to clear customs after crossing from Canada, the report said.

The plane's tail number, N714HE, was registered to United Kingdom-based Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc., which helps non-Americans legally register their aircraft with the FAA.

In June and July, the plane took off and landed multiple times in Italy, Switzerland and Austria, according to FlightAware, an airplane tracking website. In August, the plane was flown to France, the U.K. and Iceland before heading to Canada and eventually Bangor.

Accusani held several Italian flight certificates and a foreign-based pivot pilot certificate from the FAA, according to the report.

He received a second-class medical certificate from the FAA in May 2024. At that time, he had logged 2,200 flight hours, according to the report.

The NTSB is still reviewing the crash and will issue a full report in the future. The safety board reviews all civil aviation incidents in the U.S., and its full accident investigations often take one to two years to complete.

Copy the Story Link

We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.

We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.

You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.

Show less