Keith Ulich, the sole survivor of a fiery plane crash in Middletown Thursday evening, remained in critical condition yesterday at Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, the state police yesterday were still withholding the names of the two people who died when the four-seat Piper aircraft lost power and crashed after taking off from Newport State Airport at about 7:30 p.m.

The single-engine plane, built in 1977, crashed in a clump of bushes near a field about 700 feet from the runway. Eyewitnesses said they saw two men pull Ulich, 28, of Newport, from the plane just before it burst into flames.

The plane is registered to Charles Hallal of Westport, Mass., but he was not aboard the aircraft, according to Robert Gretz, a senior air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.

James Warcup, chief aeronautics inspector with the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, said the plane was used for flight instruction lessons but that it was unclear whether Thursday’s flight was instructional or for pleasure. The Federal Aviation Administration lists a Keith Thomas Ulich as a student pilot.