LUDLOW, MA – Authorities have identified the two people killed when a small plane crashed in Ludlow on Saturday night. The Hampden District Attorney’s Office said the victims were Kenneth R. Moore, 66, of Pembroke, and Marcy Asbury, 62, of East Falmouth.
Police and state troopers responded after a report of a missing aircraft, and crews later found the plane in a wooded area off Center Street. Both people on board were pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash has drawn a joint investigation involving local, state and federal aviation officials.
Police and state troopers responded after report of missing aircraft
According to authorities, the Ludlow Police Department and Massachusetts State Police were called to the area of Center Street at about 9:15 p.m. Saturday. The initial report involved a missing aircraft, not an immediate crash scene, which meant responders first had to locate where the plane had come down.
Witnesses told the Ludlow Fire Department they saw the plane go down and then called for help. That information helped guide search efforts as crews worked through the wooded area around the roadway.
The wreckage was eventually found off Center Street, where first responders confirmed that both occupants had died.
Piper PA-28 Cherokee found in wooded area off Center Street
The aircraft involved was identified as a Piper PA-28 Cherokee. Authorities said it was located in a wooded area away from the road after the search began Saturday night.
The location and terrain appear to have made the recovery effort more difficult, prompting the use of a Massachusetts State Police aircraft and drones before the wreckage was found. Those tools were used as crews searched for the missing plane and tried to narrow down its position.
Officials have not publicly said what caused the aircraft to go down. The investigation remains active.
Alpha One Flight says the plane was part of its fleet
Alpha One Flight, a Plymouth-based flight school and aircraft rental company, said the plane belonged to its fleet. The company said in a statement from founder Chris Hyldburg that this was the first accident involving injuries in its 38-year history.
Hyldburg said the company was devastated by the loss and extended condolences to the families and friends of the two people killed. He described the victims as two very special people and said the sadness reaches far beyond the company itself.
The company’s statement adds another layer to the crash, showing that it affected not only the local community but also the flight school connected to the plane.
Investigation includes FAA, NTSB and Hampden detectives
The crash is being investigated by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office and the Ludlow Police Department. They are working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
That combination of agencies is typical in a fatal plane crash, with state and local investigators handling the scene and federal officials examining the aviation side. Authorities have not announced any findings yet.
For now, the focus remains on determining what happened before the plane reached the wooded area off Center Street and why the flight ended in tragedy.
District attorney offers condolences as families mourn
Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni extended condolences to the victims’ families after the names were released. The identification of the passengers marked a significant step in the response, but it did not resolve the larger questions surrounding the crash.
With the investigation still underway, officials have not released additional details about the flight, the condition of the aircraft before the crash, or any possible contributing factors. Those answers will likely depend on the findings of the agencies now reviewing the case.
For the families of Moore and Asbury, the focus has shifted to mourning two lives lost in a crash that was first reported as a missing plane and ended with a search in the woods off Center Street.
