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63-year-old Gary Williams of Rhode Island was found about 15 to 20 feet away from the paramotor, authorities say.
A powered paramotor. Leo za1 / Wikimedia Commons
A 63-year-old Rhode Island man died Sunday morning after a paramotor crash at a Berkley airfield, authorities said.
Berkley police received a 911 call at about 9:40 a.m. reporting a single-seat paramotor crash at Myricks Airport on Padelford Street, according to a statement from the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
The site is a large open field with a grass runway used by small aircraft, as well as by paragliders and paramotor operators for takeoffs and landings.
A paramotor is the motorized version of free-flight paragliding, in which the pilot wears a backpack engine and propeller unit to provide thrust.
Responding police and ENS located a large divot in the field near Padelford Street, the district attorney’s office said.
Gary Williams, of Cranston, Rhode Island, was found about 15 to 20 feet away with life-threatening injuries, according to the statement. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities also located the damaged paramotor, which was said to have been leaking fuel with a propeller broken in multiple places, according to the district attorney’s office.
The crash remains under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Bristol District Attorney’s Office along with the Berkley Police Department, authorities said.
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