MONTEREY, Mass., March 3 (UPI) -- Three members of a New Hampshire family died but four others survived a plane crash in western Massachusetts, police said late Monday.
"We have three deceased," Massachusetts state police said, and "four were rescued."
The survivors were hoisted aboard New York State Police rescue helicopters and flown to the Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y. Their conditions were not immediately known.
Police said ground units were also sent to the scene, but had difficulty getting there because of the rugged terrain.
The plane, a Piper Cherokee Six, went down about 6:30 p.m. Sunday after complaining of icing over southeastern New England on the flight from Harrisburg, Pa., to Keene, N.H.
The wreckage was spotted from the air just after noon by a New York State Police helicopter.
Massachusetts State Police Lt. Paul C. Maloney said a helicopter located the mostly intact fuselage in Beartown State Forest in Monterey, in the southern Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.
A man and woman and their five sons, aged 12 to 2, were believed on board.
Officials said the plane is registered to Ronald K. Ferris of East Swanzey, N.H., a used car dealer in the Keene area.
The pilot reportedly radioed that he was revising his flight plan to make an emergency landing due to icing conditions.
The plane's locator transmitter indicated the aircraft was down somewhere in northern Connecticut or in the southern Berkshires of Massachusetts.
The crash site was northeast of the last known contact with the plane, Maloney said.
