William Hampton, Chad Davidson Obituary – The three people who were killed in a small plane crash Sunday in western Massachusetts were identified Monday by state police. The victims, state police said, were 68-year-old William Hampton, of Indian Orchard, Massachusetts; 29-year-old Chad Davidson, of Woodstock, Connecticut; and 53-year-old Frederika Ballard, of Southwick, Massachusetts. Ballard was the owner of the Fly Lugu Flight School in Westfield, Hampton was a flight instructor for the company, and Davidson was a student pilot. The plane, a Beechcraft 55 Baron Twin-Piston, was owned by the Fly Lugu school. State police detectives said they have determined that the plane had taken off from Barnes Airport in Westfield around 11:06 a.m. Sunday.
State police said they were notified by dog walkers around 11:30 a.m. Sunday that a small plane crash had occurred in the area of Country Club Road in Greenfield. A short time later, responders reached the crash site, which was in the Leyden Wildlife Area. Police later elaborated, saying the crash location was in a clearing on the side of a wooded mountain on the Greenfield-Leyden town line. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration confirmed they were investigating after the twin-engine airplane crashed under unknown circumstances around 12:24 p.m. near the Leyden Wildlife Management Area, close to the Greenfield town line