Pilot and passenger banged up, but will fly again

BRISTOL, N.H. -- The Massachusetts pilot injured in this week's small plane crash in Bristol, N.H., says he and his passenger are banged up, but will fly again.

Sixty-five-year-old Doug Stewart of Egremont, Mass., and his passenger, 53-year-old Glenna Blackwell of Great Barrington, Mass., were injured when their plane hit trees while taking off from an airstrip on Wednesday.

Stewart told The Citizen of Laconia that they had flown to New Hampshire to visit friends. He said everything seemed fine as they prepared to take off, but their air speed indicator was fluctuating when they got airborne and he couldn't get above trees.

Stewart and Blackwell both are pilots. He was named Flight Instructor of the Year in 2004 by the Federal Aviation Administration.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)