Tea Set Found Amid Plane Wreckage

A teenage boy on the plane got the tea set for his mother.

Amid the wreckage of the fatal plane crash in East Haven on Friday, investigators have located a tea set, intact, in the cargo section of the plane. 

Maxwell Henningsgaard, the pilot’s 17-year-old son, had picked it up for his mother, according to police.

Maxwell, his father, and two sisters were all killed in the crash, according to investigators.

Maxwell and his father, Bill, were in the 10-seat Rockwell International Turbo Commander 690B that went down on Charter Oak Drive just before 11:30 a.m. on Friday and crashed into two houses.

Sisters Sade Brantley, 13, and Madison Mitchell, 1, were killed when the plane hit their home.

The Henningsgaards were on a trip to tour colleges, including Yale, when the crash happened, officials said.

Maxwell’s mother, Susan, had told investigators that Maxwell had gotten the tea set for her, officials said.

At first, the National Transportation Safety Board did not find the set, but then located it in the back of the plane.

As officials work to console the families and investigate what happened, they are also carefully packing the gift for a grieving mother and shipping it to her, according to officials.

The mayor’s office said they have received several inquiries on how to help the victims and a fund has been set up.

Checks should be made payable to “East Haven United” and can be dropped off or mailed to the following locations:

  • Old Stone Church, 251 Main Street, East Haven, CT 06512. The phone number is 203-467-2907
  • St. Vincent DePaul Church,  80 Taylor Ave East Haven, CT 06512. The phone number is 203-467-6394
  • East Haven United c/o P.O. Box 120085, East Haven, CT 06512.
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