On Sunday afternoon around 3:15 p.m. (January 4th), a small plane crashed and caught fire at Provincetown Municipal Airport in the northern end of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The pilot, who was the only person aboard the aircraft, tragically died in the crash, and their identity has not been disclosed.
Located in the northern part of the seaside community at the top of Cape Cod, the airport was the site of the fatal incident.
Officials from the municipal government stated in a press release that firefighters and other emergency personnel extinguished the large fire at the crash site.
The press release announced that the pilot was declared dead at the scene.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that they will be launching an investigation into the crash, which involved a Cessna 172N aircraft.
The statement did not reveal any preliminary causes of the accident.
Following the incident, the airport was closed.
On that same day at 4:01 p.m., a post on the Provincetown Town Facebook page expressed gratitude, stating, “We thank the Provincetown Police Department, Fire Department, and our partners for their swift response to this event. Our thoughts are with the pilot’s family.”
Cape Cod is a hooked peninsula in southeastern Massachusetts that stretches out into the Atlantic Ocean, with Provincetown located at the northern tip of the Cape, approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the southeast of Boston.
The town is a popular summer resort destination at the tip of Cape Cod, with a population of around 3,600 residents. During peak holiday periods, up to 60,000 visitors flock to the area, with many affluent vacationers heading to their second homes along the waterfront.
Like much of New England, Provincetown was also blanketed in thick snow last week.