Kenneth R. Moore was looking forward to a crisp September afternoon at the Three County Fair. On Saturday, September 5, the 66-year-old pilot from Pembroke posted online about his plans to fly out to Northampton. He invited his girlfriend, 62-year-old Marcy Asbury of East Falmouth, to join him for the quick weekend hop across the state.
Hours after making that post, the couple’s single-engine plane disappeared from radio contact. What was meant to be a simple afternoon flight turned into an urgent search late Saturday evening. Emergency crews began checking local radar tracks after air traffic controllers reported a missing light aircraft in Hampden County.
Search teams eventually traced the downed plane to a dense patch of woods off Center Street in Ludlow, near the Springfield Reservoir. Both Moore and Asbury were found inside the wreckage. First responders pronounced both victims dead at the scene.
Local officials spent several days notifying family members before releasing public statements. On Thursday, September 10, Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni formally identified Moore and Asbury as the two people killed in the crash.
Moore was known among local flight enthusiasts as an active aviator who routinely took short trips out of regional airports. His planned flight to Northampton was a typical weekend outing to enjoy the annual fairgrounds event.
The aircraft involved was a Piper PA-28 Cherokee owned by Alpha One Flight Services in Plymouth. The flight outfit has operated for nearly four decades on the South Shore without a fatal incident. Company founder Christopher Hyldburg expressed grief over the loss, noting the tragedy hits the regional aviation community hard.
Federal safety agencies and state investigators are now checking flight logs, maintenance records, and local weather conditions to determine what caused the aircraft to go down. For residents in Pembroke and East Falmouth, the sudden loss leaves two South Shore towns mourning two longtime community members.
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