1 of 2 Houses Damaged in East Haven Plane Crash Demolished

The house at 68 Charter Oak was demolished Thursday

One of the houses damaged in the deadly East Haven, Conn., airplane crash earlier this month was demolished Thursday morning.

The house at 68 Charter Oak Avenue was one of two that were destroyed when a small propeller-driven plane crashed on approach to Tweed-New Haven Airport on the morning of August 9.

The house was demolished on Thursday and all that remains is a pile of rubble.

Four people were killed in the plane crash, including sisters Sade Brantley, 13, and Madisyn Mitchell, 1, who were both in one of the two homes struck. 

William Henningsgard, of Medina, Washington, was operating the plane and his 17-year-old son, Maxwell, was a passenger, according to officials. Both were also killed.

The Cherry Hill Construction Company demolished 64 Charter Oak Avenue.

Mayor Joseph Maturo said on Wednesday that the company had the demolition permits.

Environmental testing was completed on the property late last week and the State Health Department, along with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and local utilities, gave the necessary clearances. 

The house at 64 Charter Oak Avenue is the one that was directly hit by the plane and officials have not said when it will be demolished.

Maturo said the town is working with the insurance company to facilitate the demolition of that property “in the coming days.”

"Environmental concerns from the jet fuel deposited on 64 Charter Oak Avenue have made the process of demolishing that property a bit more complex than the one being taken down tomorrow.  Nevertheless, the Town has indicated to the insurance company handling the matter that if the home is not taken down expeditiously, the Town will exercise its authority to have the home demolished,” Maturo said in a statement.
 
Maturo is asking people to be sensitive at this stage in the process.

“Precious lives were lost on August 9th and I’d ask everyone, including the media, to continue to be sensitive to that. As painful as it is for the homeowners to watch their homes come down, the raising of these homes is a difficult but important step in the healing process for these families and for the neighborhood,” Maturo said.

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