2 dead in violent plane crash on Route 195 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts

Two people were killed when a small plane crashed on Route 195 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Monday morning, police said. Both sides of the highway were closed.

The single-engine, fixed-wing plane crashed into a grassy median around 8:15 a.m. and caught fire, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Both people killed were on the plane, police said, and one person on the ground was injured and taken in a car to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford. The severity of this person’s injuries is not yet known.

“No further information is available regarding the identities of the victims, the circumstances of the crash, or when the roadway will reopen to normal traffic,” state police spokesman Tim McGuirk said in a statement. “We extend our condolences to their families and loved ones.”

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the causes of the accident. The agency said the Socata TBM-700 aircraft took off from New Bedford Regional Airport.

McGuirk said the plane may have been trying to land at the airport, but added that “it does not appear that the pilot provided the airport with a flight plan.”

A photo and video posted on social media showed the wreckage burning on the highway in the rain. There was also a crashed car in the central reservation, but it is unclear if it was involved in the accident.

“Federal Aviation Administration officials will likely bear primary responsibility for the investigation into the circumstances of the accident,” state police said.

It is not yet known whether the weather was a factor. A nor Easter has been moving through Massachusetts since Sunday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the region.

Dartmouth is approximately 57 miles south of Boston and 28 miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island.