An experienced Cape Air pilot and Vineyard Haven resident was killed on Friday night in single plane crash in the woods off State Road in West Tisbury. It was the first fatal Cape Air crash in the history of the airline.

David D. Willey was pronounced dead at the scene. He was the sole occupant of the plane, a 1981 twin engine nine-passenger Cessna 402. The plane flown by Mr. Willey left the Martha’s Vineyard Airport at approximately 8 p.m. from runway 33 on a repositioning flight headed for Boston. Because it was a respositioning flight, there were no passengers on board, said Michelle Haynes, communications director for Cape Air. A few minutes after takeoff the plane went down in a wooded residential area across the road from Nip n’ Tuck Farm, about two and a half miles from the airport.

West Tisbury police said the plane skimmed the top of one home before crashing into the woods. There were no other injuries. West Tisbury police and firefighters, tri-town ambulance and state police were dispatched to the scene. Chilmark police also assisted. The weather was variable with intermittent light and heavy rain.

The scene of the crash remained closed off on Saturday morning while state and federal authorities, including officials from the National Transportation Safety Board, investigated.

“We are all in mourning today,” said Ms. Haynes. “This is the first we’ve ever experienced.”