Connecticut pilot dies in plane crash in Massachusetts

The Connecticut dentist who died Saturday in a plane crash near Worcester Regional Airport was once an airline pilot for Eastern Air Lines and the former US Airways while running a dental practice in Massachusetts.

The single-engine plane crashed into the woods just beyond the runway around 8 a.m., authorities said.

The1996 Mooney M20M plane veered to the right and crashed in trees near the airport, diving to one side before hitting the ground, witnesses said. He was the only person inside the plane.

No flight plan was filed and Weller’s destination is now unknown, officials say. An autopsy would be conducted by the state’s medical examiner, Early said.

State Police say the scene will be secured overnight Saturday and the investigation will continue Sunday.

A former commercial airline pilot, Weller practiced dentistry in Putnam and also in Massachusetts for three decades.

Paul Cox, a senior air safety investigator, said the NTSB is in the fact-finding stage of the investigation and a cause can’t be determined at this point.