Wednesday, May 6, 2015

ONE PERSON WAS KILLED IN A CESSNA 172G SKYHAWK PLANE CRASH SUNDAY MORNING AT THE PENN YAN AIRPORT.






MAY 4, 2015

PENN YAN, NY

One person was killed in a plane crash Sunday morning at the Penn Yan airport. Officials identified the pilot as 55-year-old Steven Seely of Ontario County. They say he was the only person inside the plane.

We're told Seely was a member of the Penn Yan Flying Club but owned his own plane that he kept at the airport. Officials say he was a student pilot. A preliminary investigation indicates he was practicing take offs and landings.
   
Deputies say Seely is from Stanley and tell us he is the owner of Seely Engine Machine in Ontario County. According to our news partners at the Messenger Post, a barn at Seely's business was heavily damaged by fire earlier this year.

The Yates County Sheriff told us when Seely tried taking off on the 5,500-foot runway and once he got into the air, he spun around and took a nose dive. The tail went up against the fence near the tree line beside the runway. Seely was dead on scene.

While nothing is official, investigators pointed to two possible causes: a medical episode or mechanical failure. "I’m saying those are probably the number of factors that could have taken place,” said Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike.

Seely owned a student pilot’s license and was a member of the Penn Yan Flying Club. The plane itself was a personal aircraft -- a single-engine Cessna. FAA  investigators were on scene Sunday along with Sheriff’s deputies.

NTBS investigators arrive Monday morning. The hope is that they'll be able to put a few more of the pieces together then. They'll be relying on interviews with the few witnesses who were golfing at a nearby country club at the time of the crash.

"Witnesses told us, from a nearby golf course, had told us that they saw the plane didn't get higher than 100 feet off the ground when it came back down and veered off,” said Sheriff Spike.

Seelys wife was out of town at the time of the accident and we understand he has a large family and it took deputies a while to notify everyone.


Date:
03-MAY-2015
Time:
11:38
Type:
Owner/operator:
Private
Registration:
N3969L
C/n / msn:
17254138
Fatalities:
Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:
0
Airplane damage:
Substantial
Location:
Penn Yan Airport (KPEO), Penn Yan, NY -   United States of America
Phase:
Take off
Nature:
Unknown
Departure airport:
Penn Yan (KPEO)
Destination airport:


Narrative:
The aircraft impacted airport terrain shortly after takeoff from Penn Yan Airport (KPEO), Penn Yan, New York. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the sole pilot onboard received fatal injuries.

Sources: 

http://m.chronicle-express.com/article/20150503/NEWS/150509935 http://www.asias.faa.gov/pls/apex/f?p=100:95:0::NO::P95_EVENT_LCL_DATE,P95_LOC_CITY_NAME,P95_REGIST_NBR:03-MAY-15,PENN%20YAN,N3969L http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N3969L