Three saved after the small plane crashes into Mount Equinox

Rescuers used helicopters and motorcycles to help three people injured on Wednesday, when their small plane crashed into the Equinox mountain in the south of Vermont, officials said.

Piper Pa-28 collapsed near the top of the mountain of 3,855 meters from Manchester, according to the Federal Administration of Aviation and Scott Murphy, the city manager.

FAA reported that the accident occurred around 3:50 am Wednesday, while the city firefighters posted about the rescue effort around 9:50

Rescuers traveled the Skyline Drive, a private access road, on wheels, as far as possible, moved to snow motorcycles and then climbed the snow and ice to get to the accident, said Murphy.

“It is a very difficult location,” he said in a telephone interview. “There is a steep tone, a lot of snow and ice, and the wind conditions are quite strong.”

He said that three medical flight helicopters responded, giving up paramedics to provide first aid on the spot and evaluate how to eliminate the accident victim, he said.

Helicopters transported victims to the City Public Safety Center Where they were transferred to ambulances, according to a firefighter post on Facebook.

Murphy said the victims were extracted from the site around 1:30 pm and were probably taken to Albany Medical Center or Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH two of the helicopters came from New York, and the third was from Dartmouth Hitchcock, he said.

He said he has no information about the medical condition of the three people.

FAA will investigate the cause of the accident, wrote an agency spokeswoman in an email.

It was not known immediately where the plane left or what its destination was.

This is a developing story and will be updated when new information will be available.

John R. Ellement can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow it @Jrebosglobe.