HADDAM — The pilot of a single-engine plane was seriously injured when it crashed onto the roof of a house on Little Meadow Road, near Eagles Landing, on Saturday afternoon, state police said. 

Benjamin Taylor, 46, of East Rockaway, N.Y. was reported in critical condition Saturday night at Hartford Hospital where he was taken by LifeStar helicopter. He was the only person in the plane, according to State Trooper Kelly Grant.

Grant also said there were no reported injuries to the homeowner or any one on the ground.

Joe Smith, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard was in his motorboat on the Connecticut River when he saw the plane crash and rushed to help.

Smith said the plane was flying near the Goodspeed Airport, which is across the river from the crash site, about 4 p.m. when it started dropping fast.

"We saw a plane that was flying right above the Goodspeed Airport. It started spiraling downward. We weren't sure if it was a trick or what," he said.

But when the plane didn't reappear above the tree line, he was sure it had crashed. Smith said he sped to the riverbank near where the plane had gone out of sight and dashed up to find that the plane was on the roof of a house.

"The plane crashed into the house, nose first," he said. "Both wings were pulled off."

He and several other people climbed onto the roof and helped to extricate a man from the plane. "We pulled him out of the plane and then just kept him stable" until help arrived, Smith said. Smith said Temple was able to say a few words to him. A large amount of fuel leaked from the plane, he added.

Grant said Eversource was contacted because power lines or poles have been affected.

A spokeswoman for Eversource that that the utility shut down power to almost 300 customers to enable the rescue effort to proceed safely. However, by 6 p.m. the power was restored.

The FAA is investigating the crash with the state police, and the state aviation inspector and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also were called in, Grant said. The Haddam building inspector was checking the integrity of residence, she said.