The “Meridian” Rockwell 690B Turbo Commander that crashed into the East Haven home had two aboard, Bill Henningsgaard and his teenage son, Maxwell, who were visiting colleges.
Inside one of the houses struck were Sadie Brantley, 13, and Madisyn Mitchell, 1, bringing the total fatalities up to four. The children’s mother, Joann Mitchell, 39, escaped as well as a Scottish terrier which was found outside after the crash.
A National Transportation Safety Board official said there might be four to six fatalities.
Updated reports indicate that the left wing lodged in one house and the right wing in the other.
Henningsgaard was piloting the plane. He was about to land on Tweed’s Runway 2 with an instrument landing. He had missed his first approach and was about to attempt a second landing.
Henningsgaard was a former (14 year) Microsoft executive. According to SVP, Henningsgaard Bill was a member of Social Venture Partners since 1998, was the board chair and acting executive director of Eastside Pathways, and on the board of Youth Eastside Services, co-founded the advisory board of the Institute of Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, and was treasurer of his church council. He had an undergraduate degree at Harvard, post-graduate education at the University of Oslo, Norway, and an M.B.A. from Stanford.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Sullivan, and two children.
