Authorities identified the lone pilot as Manfred Forst, 80, the Hartford Courant reported. Officials told the newspaper that he was flying a single-engine Cessna when it crashed in a parking lot near the runway around 11:30 a.m.
"I knew he had a problem. It was wavering, it was going very slow," witness Dave Thayer told the Courant. "I heard the bang and knew that he went down."
Police spokesman Lt. Eric Peterson told the Meriden Record-Journal that Forst crashed a 1981 Cessna 172. He was taken to the Hospital of Central Connecticut with injuries that appeared to be minor, Peterson told the newspaper.
"I was very fortunate I got out of it without any real injuries," Forst told WVIT. "I'm just so thankful."
He told the news station that he was headed for breakfast when the crash happened and that "he gave his wife a big kiss when he got home," WVIT reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.
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