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Wreckage of missing plane found that took off from Reading; pilot remains missing

The plane was found Thursday about 3.5 miles east of Orleans in 70 to 80 feet of water.

  • The Associated Press
Courtesy of iStock.

Courtesy of iStock.

(Orleans, Mass.) — Massachusetts state police divers have found the wreckage of the small plane that took off from Berks County and went down in the ocean off the coast of Cod Cod last weekend, but the pilot remains missing.

The plane was found Thursday about 3.5 miles east of Orleans in 70 to 80 feet of water, Chatham Harbormaster Stuart Smith told the Cape Cod Times.

“Divers located the fuselage of the missing airplane, however, the pilot was not recovered,” state police said in a statement.

The pilot, believed to be the only person on board, was identified by authorities as Roger Mills, 67, of Woburn, Massachusetts.

The Piper PA-28 took off from Reading Regional Airport on Sunday and was scheduled to land at Chatham Municipal Airport by about 8 p.m. A friend waiting at the airport reported that Mills had not arrived as scheduled.

A National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson says the agency has opened an investigation into the crash.

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