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Home-Built Plane Crashes Through Methuen Roof, Killing Pilot

Firefighters investigate the scene after a small plane crashed into the roof of a condominium building in Methuen, Tuesday. (Elise Amendola/AP)
Firefighters investigate the scene after a small plane crashed into the roof of a condominium building in Methuen, Tuesday. (Elise Amendola/AP)

A single-engine aircraft crashed into a condominium building Tuesday on its approach to an airport, killing the pilot and leaving the plane's tail sticking out of the complex's roof.

The pilot was identified as Al Lavender, a former city councilor and mayor of Newburyport, police said.

There were no reported injuries to residents of the building, located in Methuen across the Merrimack River from Lawrence Municipal Airport and about 20 miles southwest of Newburyport. The Federal Aviation Administration said the home-built plane was on its final approach when it crashed.

Only a few people were inside the building at the Prides Crossing condominium complex when the plane crashed shortly after 1 p.m., Lt. Stephen Smith said.

Television footage and photos showed the tail of the single-engine plane sticking out of the roof.

Keith Lontine, a witness to the crash, told New England Cable News the plane "came down straight out of the sky."

"It looked like it took a nosedive out of the blue and smashed into the building," Lontine said.

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