Clinton man suffers minor injuries after small plane crashes in Benton woods

BENTON — A Clinton man was taken to the hospital with minor injuries after his small airplane crashed Tuesday morning in the woods off Neck Road, police said.

Bill Fuller, 75, was taken to Inland Hospital in Waterville and was expected to be released Tuesday after suffering cuts and bruises, according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.

Emergency crews and authorities responded to a report at 10:47 a.m. of an “aircraft emergency” in the area of Neck Road in Benton.

Fuller was flying an ultralight, a term used to describe lightweight fixed-wing aircraft that have one or two seats.

He crashed the small plane soon after taking off, according to Maine State Trooper Marc Poulin. Fuller told other officers that he ran into trouble on the takeoff and lost power, Poulin said, but an official cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

The Federal Aviation Administration is not going to investigate the crash, Poulin said. The aircraft will remain in the woods until Fuller arranges to have it taken out.

The Maine State Police, Fairfield police and rescue units, and Delta Ambulance all responded to the call. The Maine Warden Service also initially responded, as they didn’t know how deep in the woods the plane had crashed.

Most emergency responders had left the scene by about 11:45 a.m.

Madeline St. Amour — 861-9239

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Twitter: @madelinestamour