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NTSB launches probe into plane crash that killed ex-mayor
METHUEN, Mass. — The National Transportation Safety Board will look into the “man, the machine and the environment” as it investigates a plane crash that killed a former mayor and left the tail of the aircraft poking out of the roof of a condo building, officials said Wednesday.
Alan Lavender, 73, died when the plane crashed into the building in Methuen on approach to Lawrence Municipal Airport on Tuesday. Lavender was a former city councillor and mayor of Newburyport. None of the building’s residents were injured.
The Lavender family issued a statement Wednesday asking for privacy.
“On behalf of our entire family, we wish to express our deepest gratitude for the outpouring of support we have received from our friends and neighbours in Newburyport since the tragic loss of our beloved Al on Tuesday,” the statement said.