2 killed in small plane crash shortly after takeoff in western New York
Two men were killed Tuesday after a small plane crashed in western New York shortly after takeoff.
According to the Post-Journal of Jamestown, a single-engine Cirrus SR-22 plane crashed in a field near the Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport in Ellicott, about 70 miles south of Buffalo, just before 2 p.m.
The plane, which had traveled from Oshawa, Ontario that morning, took off from the Jamestown airport at 1:41 p.m. on its way back to Canada, said Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone. The crash happened roughly 10 minutes after taking off following a “catastrophic failure,” he said.
Witness James Mortimer, who was riding his bike nearby, told the Post-Journal the crash occurred seconds after the plane’s recovery system parachute was deployed, possibly in an attempt to bring the aircraft down safely.
“It banked really steeply, like it was in a bank,” Mortimer said. “I thought it was gonna go down right there, but it straightened out again and it turned to the right and flew to the right. ... Not even two seconds after it popped the chute it was into the ground.”
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the sheriff said.
The identities of the victims are being withheld pending notification to next of kin, he added.
The crash occurred two days after a small plane crashed in Virginia, killing all four people aboard the aircraft.
With News Wire Services
