(Watertown) The fatalities of the Wednesday morning plane crash in Watertown have been identified. The plane was registered to retired dentist William Buccholtz, who was flying the craft when it departed at Watertown Municipal Airport and crashed in a city park a few miles away. An eight-year-old grandson of Buccholtz was with also on the plane.
Watertown police and fire personnel responded to Brandt Quirk Park located at 800 Carriage Hill Drive around 9:05am. There were small fires around the crash site which were quickly extinguished by firefighters. Witness Brady Lessner spoke with FOX 6 News.
“When I was just mowing the lawn I just heard a light…like a loud boom…I saw like a couple of wheels like on the grass and like there’s a shoe on fire so that…was pretty nerve wracking,” says Lessner. “And there’s also like part of the engine that was on the field.”
Mary Bellow says she saw thick smoke billowing from the crash site.
“I was in the garage having coffee…heard a plane that didn’t sound right…it was pitch black, but then it was gone within seconds – just gone,” says Bellow.
The National Transportation Board said the aircraft was a Mooney M20R. It took off about 9:00 AM for a flight to Manitowish Waters. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be leading the investigation with the Watertown Police Department assisting.
–WRN contributed
