Police Identify the 7 Victims Killed in Connecticut Plane Crash

Sad news to report in Connecticut today, as police have released the names of the seven people who died as a result of the vintage World War II aircraft crash that took place at Bradley International Airport on Wednesday (October 2).

During a press conference on Thursday afternoon, the Connecticut State Police listed the following victims, three of which were crew members on the aircraft, while the remaining four of the deceased were paid passengers:

• Ernest McCauley, age 75, Pilot from Long Beach, CA
• Michael Foster, age 71, Co-pilot from Jacksonville, FL
• David Broderick, age 56, passenger from West Springfield, MA
• Gary Mazzone, age 66, - passenger from Broad Brook, CT
• James Roberts, age 48 - passenger from Ludlow, MA
• Robert Riddell, age 59 - passenger from East Granby, CT
• Robert Rubner, age 64 - passenger from Tolland, CT

State Police also listed the names of those who suffered injuries as a result of the crash, and they are as follows:

• Mitchell Melton, age 34, Flight Engineer from Dalehaff, TX
• Andy Barrett, age 36, passenger from South Hadley, MA
• Linda Schmidt, age 62, passenger from Suffield, CT
• Tom Schmidt, age 62, passenger from Suffield CT
• Joseph Huber, age 48, passenger from Tariffville, CT
• James Traficante, age 54, passenger from Simsbury, CT

In all, police say there were 16 people injured as a result of the crash; the 13 that were aboard the plane, two people that were inside the de-icing building that the plane crashed into and one firefighter, who was injured while working to extinguish the fire. Officials at Hartford Hospital say that two of the victims that were not on the plane at the time of the crash were transferred to a burn unit in Bridgeport, CT.

The plane was described as a vintage Boeing B-17 military aircraft, a four-engine heavy bomber from World War that was part of an air show that was going on over the last few days at Bradley International.

Authorities say that the pilot, 75-year-old Ernest McCauley, reported an unidentified issue with the plane shortly after takeoff. Then, control of the plane was lost during landing and crashed into the airport's deicing facility around 10:54 AM on Wednesday.

Immediately after the crash, Bradley International was closed to all flights, but then opened up one runway for limited use around at 1:30 PM on Wednesday. The airport is now operating as scheduled.

Kevin A. Dillion, the Executive Director of the Connecticut Airport Authority issued the following statement on Thursday afternoon regarding the tragedy: