The Maryland State Police are investigating a fatal plane crash that occurred this morning in Talbot County. The pilot, identified as Robert Eugene Merlini, 56, of Annapolis, was the sole occupant of the twin-engine Cessna that crashed into the Tred Avon River.
At 9:38 a.m., troopers from the Maryland State Police Easton Barrack responded to reports of a plane crash near the 6800 block of Travelers Rest Circle in Easton, Maryland. Witnesses had called 911 after observing the crash.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the Cessna took off shortly before 9:00 a.m. from Tipton Airport at Fort Meade and was en route to Easton Airport when it went down. Divers from the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, assisted by the Natural Resources Police Underwater Operations Team and other marine units from Queen Anne’s, Dorchester, and Talbot counties, recovered Merlini’s body from the water. EMS personnel declared him dead at the scene.
Multiple agencies, including the Maryland Natural Resources Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office, and Talbot County Fire/EMS, responded to the crash site. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have been notified and will join the investigation.
Maryland State Police crime scene technicians and troopers from the Underwater Recovery Team, along with investigators from the Criminal Enforcement Division, are processing the scene and gathering evidence. The body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy.
