A small private plane that departed from Martha’s Vineyard crashed outside the Worcester Regional Airport Tuesday afternoon. All three passengers and a dog survived the accident, with assistance from teenage snowmobilers, according to police.

Passenger identification was not available Wednesday morning. 

In a statement to the Gazette late Tuesday, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman confirmed the crash. The statement said three passengers were on the plane, but did not include the names.

“A single-engine Piper PA-46 crashed approximately three miles northwest of Worcester Regional Airport in Worcester, Mass., shortly before 5 p.m. local time,” the statement said. “Preliminary reports indicate that three people were aboard. Local authorities will release the names and medical conditions of the aircraft’s occupants.”

Vineyard airport director Geoffrey Freeman confirmed Wednesday morning that the plane had taken off from MVY. Mr. Freeman later confirmed that the plane picked up two passengers on the Island before departing.

The crash occurred near Moosehill Road in Leicester and three people were transported to the hospital, an alert that went out to emergency responders said.

On Wednesday, Leicester police chief Ken Antanavica said in a phone interview that all three passengers were expected to survive. A dog that was also on the plane was uninjured and is in the care of family, according to the police chief.

“A lot of people looking out for that pup,” Chief Antanavica said.

Chief Antanavica said that fire, police and emergency services personnel were assisted in the response by a group of teenage snowmobilers who were in the hilly area, which was covered in about 16 inches of snow. The snowmobilers transported two passengers safely from the accident and helped emergency personnel access the site.

“Access was very limited,” Chief Antanavica said. “[The snowmobilers] came over, and they ended up helping out.”

Chris O’Neil, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, had previously said in a phone call to the Gazette Tuesday evening that the organization was not investigating the accident as of last evening.

But in a Twitter statement Wednesday, the NTSB said that they would be investigating the incident because the airplane was substantially damaged. The NTSB confirmed that there were no fatalities in the post.

The NTSB is now responsible for releasing the names of the passengers, according to Chief Antanavica. Mr. O’Neil did not immediately respond to a request for further information Wednesday afternoon.

Publicly available online flight records show that a privately-owned Piper PA-46 Malibu Mirage plane was scheduled to depart from the Martha’s Vineyard Airport at 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, with a scheduled 4:39 p.m. arrival at Worcester Regional Airport.

Records and flight tracking data show that the plane departed the airport at 4:15 p.m. and lost contact approximately 40 minutes later just northwest of Worcester.

Online flight information shows that the plane had flown from Worcester to the Island earlier on Tuesday, arriving on the Vineyard at 3:52 p.m. The plane then departed from the Island 20 minutes later, with a scheduled landing in Worcester, but never arrived.

According to the FAA tail number database, the plane is registered to Forza Management Co, based in Auburn. Barry Lundgren is listed as the principal.

Mr. Lundgren has owned homes in both Worcester and Martha's Vineyard. He purchased 22 Lelands Path in Edgartown from Morash Family LP for $7,500,000 on Dec. 30, 2020, according to real estate records.