The state Medical Examiner’s Office must use DNA analysis to confirm the identity of the pilot who was killed in Sunday’s plane crash in Biddeford, a process that could take two to three days.
But information from several sources indicates the pilot was probably a 71-year-old North Yarmouth man, Edward L’Hommedieu.
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The plane was returning to Portland from White Plains, N.Y., on Sunday afternoon when it clipped a tree and crashed into a house on its approach to Biddeford Municipal Airport, federal officials said.
An investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board spent Tuesday examining components of the plane and interviewing witnesses in an effort to determine what caused the crash of the twin-engine Cessna.
The plane ignited a fire when it crashed into the house at 235 Granite St. Extension, making identification of the pilot difficult, officials said.
E. Christopher L’Hommedieu, an attorney in Lewiston, said Tuesday that he and his family were waiting for the medical examiner to confirm the identity of the pilot before making any public statements.
Edward L’Hommedieu was listed on the Flight School and Aviation Training Index website as a pilot and flight instructor who was rated to fly single- and multi-engine aircraft.
Ron Caruso, who operates general aviation businesses at the Portland International Jetport, was told that L’Hommedieu was the pilot who crashed, flying the Nantucket-based plane for its owners.
The plane is owned by the Rinfret family of Nantucket, Mass., according to published reports that said it took off from there Sunday.
The plane was en route to Portland from White Plains, N.Y., when the pilot tried to land in Biddeford to pick up a female passenger, officials said.
Caruso said L’Hommedieu was an experienced pilot who, he was told, flew B-52s when he was in the Air Force.
“It was a real tragedy. He’s a great guy. I didn’t know him well, but I never heard anybody say anything bad about him,” Caruso said. “He’s been flying these kind of aircraft all over the world.”
The plane was serviced regularly in Portland, Caruso said.
Determining the cause of the crash could be a painstaking process, given the fire and the extent of damage to the plane.
“Our goal is to have a preliminary report on the website within 10 days of the accident,” said Peter Knudson, spokesman for the NTSB.
A complete investigation for a fatal crash typically takes 12 months, though a factual assessment of contributing factors may be posted in the months before that, he said.
After the initial examination of the wreckage and interviews with witnesses, the NTSB investigator will sometimes order tests for some aircraft components to determine whether they were working at the time of the crash, Knudson said.
“Oftentimes they’re done with the wreckage in a few days,” he said.
The wreckage from Sunday’s crash is being stored at the Biddeford Municipal Airport.
Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at: dhench@pressherald.com
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