Flight instructors, student pilot killed in plane crash on Greenfield-Leyden line

Greenfield Fire Department crews respond to the plane crash near Oak Hill Acres on Sunday morning. FOR THE RECORDER/LIESEL NYGARD GREENFIELD -- Authorities have identified the three victims of Sunday's fatal plane crash on the Greenfield-Leyden line. Frederika Ballard, 53, of Southwick, William Hampton, 68, of Indian Orchard, and Chad Davidson, 29, of Woodstock, Connecticut, were killed when a Beechcraft 55 Baron Twin-Piston plane crashed in a small clearing in the woods within the Leyden Wildlife Management Area, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Ballard was the owner of the Fly Lugu Flight School in Westfield. Hampton was a flight instructor for Fly Lugu and Davidson was a student pilot. The plane, with tail number N7345R, was owned by the Fly Lugu school, and was located Sunday at approximately 12:33 p.m.

The three occupants, all of whom were within the crashed plane, were found dead when Greenfield firefighters and American Medical Response paramedics arrived at the crash site, according to state police. State Police detectives assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney's Office determined that the plane had departed from Barnes Airport in Westfield at approximately 11:06 a.m. Troopers confirmed that the three victims were the plane's only occupants.

Troopers from the State Police Crime Scene Services Section processed and documented the crash site. The victims were removed from the wreckage by firefighters and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Authorities began searching for the crash site at approximately 11:30 a.m. after Greenfield Police/Fire Dispatch received 911 calls from dog walkers in Leyden and Greenfield reporting a plane that appeared about to crash.

Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspectors also responded to the crash site yesterday and a National Transportation Safety Board investigator is expected to arrive today. A Trooper from the Shelburne Falls barracks remained on scene at the crash site overnight to ensure scene security. The crash remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police, Greenfield Police, the DA's Office, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.