A husband and wife have been identified as the victims of a fiery plane crash in Massachusetts on Monday morning.
Thomas Perkins, 68, and his wife, 66-year-old Agatha Perkins, both of Middletown, Rhode Island, were found in the fuselage of their downed single-engine Socata TBM 700 at about 8.15am, reported Boston 25 News.
They were pronounced dead at the scene.
A third victim was also injured and has not been publicly identified. She was driving on the Interstate 195 in Darmouth when the small plane crashed on the highway.
The woman was rushed to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
'The plane may have been attempting to land at New Bedford Regional Airport, though it does not appear that the pilot provided the airport with a flight plan or the number of souls aboard the aircraft,' state police said.
The crash occurred as a Nor'easter battered the area with high winds and heavy rain.
The couple's devastated community paid tribute to them on Monday, writing on Facebook: 'The Aquidneck Island community is mourning the heartbreaking loss of Tom and Aggie Perkins.'
Thomas Perkins, 68, and his wife, 66-year-old Agatha Perkins, both of Middletown, Rhode Island , were found in the fuselage of the fixed-wing, single-engine Socata TBM 700 at about 8.15am
The plane appeared to split in two, with the fuselage coming to rest on the median while further debris was scattered nearby
They were described as 'a beloved couple whose kindness, generosity, and spirit touched countless lives across Aquidneck Island.'
'The aircraft went down on the grassy median near Exit 22 around 8:15 a.m., erupting into flames and forcing the closure of both sides of the highway for much of the day.
'Massachusetts State Police confirmed that both Tom and Aggie were aboard the plane and died at the scene.'
The duo were reportedly en route to Kenosha, Wisconsin, having departed New Bedford Regional Airport shortly before the crash.
Thomas had his piloting license, and the pair were on board a plane registered to the Air Charity Network, according to Flight Aware information.
Air Charity Network is the parent company of several regional 'Angel Flight' charities, but Angel Care issued a statement confirming the plane was not linked with any scheduled flights for them.
'We are all checking with each other to see which public benefit flying organization the pilot was volunteering for, and that has yet to be determined,' Brendan Sneegas, CEO and executive director of Angel Flight Central, said.
The plane was owned by Easton Air LLC, a company registered to Perkins' home address.
They were described as 'a beloved couple whose kindness, generosity, and spirit touched countless lives across Aquidneck Island'
The crash occurred as a Nor'easter battered the area with high winds and heavy rain
The crash will be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board
Just six minutes before the plane reportedly went down, Agatha had posted in a local buy/swap/sell community page on Facebook.
The crash will be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
According to state police, the plane caught fire as soon as it crashed.
The plane appeared to split in two, with the fuselage coming to rest on the median while further debris was scattered nearby.
The crash occurred during horror weather conditions in the region. The Nor'easter brought over four inches of rain to some parts of Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service.
Meanwhile, millions of Americans across New Jersey and New York were placed under a state of emergency as rain and strong wind gusts of 45mph battered the region.