NTSB investigates Dexter plane crash

DEXTER – National Transportation Safety Board officials were in Dexter Tuesday investigating the cause of a plane crash that injured four people at the local airport Monday.

NTSB Investigator David Muzio said Tuesday that it might be weeks before a determination is made about the cause of the crash. His immediate focus was on documenting the runway conditions, the wreckage and the weather, he said.

The accident occurred at about 10:30 a.m. when pilot Douglas Schumann, 58, of Southington, Conn., overshot a runway on approach at the unattended airport and crash-landed his new corporate jet.

Schumann, owner of PQ Controls Inc., an electronics firm with locations in Dover-Foxcroft and Bristol, Conn., was accompanied in the Cessna Citation Jet C525 by his brother, William Schumann, 62, of Southington, Conn.; Anke Stinson, 53, of Naples, Fla., and Bart Guthrie, 38, of Kensington, Conn., all of whom were injured. All of the occupants reportedly were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.

The pilot’s dog, Cosette, a beloved bichon frise that traveled with Schumann frequently, was killed in the crash. It was unknown whether the dog had been secured inside the plane.

Three of the victims – the Schumanns and Stinson – were taken by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Douglas Schumann later was transferred to a Boston hospital.

An EMMC spokesman said Tuesday that both Stinson and William Schumann were in good condition. Douglas Schumann’s condition was unavailable.

Guthrie was treated for his minor injuries at Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and was released the same day.

As part of the investigation, Muzio said he planned to interview Schumann today in Boston. He said he already had conducted brief interviews over the telephone with the passengers.

The airport and the 3,000-foot runway are familiar to Schumann, who routinely lands about once a month to visit his Dover-Foxcroft business. Weather was not believed to be a factor in the accident.

Dexter recently updated its Airport Master Plan, and Town Manager Robert Simpson, a former military pilot, said the runway was adequate for Schumann’s aircraft. The adequacy of a runway depends upon the performance of an aircraft, he said.

Initially, local officials said the airplane was demolished, but on Tuesday Muzio said the craft was “substantially damaged.”

According to local police, the insurer of the plane is making plans to retrieve it in one piece, rather than dismantling it. Until that is accomplished, Dexter police have been asked to secure the scene.