Plane practicing for New York Air Show crashes in Orange County, killing pilot
The tail of the plane broke off, an apparent structural failure of this carbon fiber plane. (Ben Granucci, NYCAvaition.com)
Eyewitness News
Updated 4 mins ago
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. (WABC) -- A plane crashed during practice Friday for the New York Air Show this weekend, killing the pilot.
It happened at about 2 p.m. near Stewart International Airport in New Windsor in Orange County.
Benjamin Granucci, a photographer taking photos at the time of the crash, described what he saw on Twitter:
In the photo that is posted above, Granucci said it shows the tail of the plane missing.
WATCH LIVE: Click here to see NewsCopter 7 flying over the scene of the crash
Orange County's Department of Emergency Services confirmed that there was a fatal accident involving a single-engine plane crashed while practicing for the New York Air Show. We're told the pilot is the one who died.
Here's what the FAA said in a statement:
"A Cornell W F/Sahakian JA Jr. Giles G 202 experimental aircraft crashed shortly after it departed from Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, NY at about 2 p.m. today. Check with local authorities on the condition of the pilot, the only person onboard. The pilot of the aircraft was scheduled to participate in an airshow at Stewart Airport this weekend. The FAA will investigate and the NTSB will determine probable cause.
Cornell W F/Sahkian JA Jr is the aircraft manufacturer; the Giles G 202 is the aircraft model."
County officials said practice for the day has been canceled, and that the air show is still planned to carry on as scheduled Saturday and Sunday.
Keep checking abc7NY for the latest on this developing story.
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Update: 'Apparent Structural Failure' Cited in Crash that Killed New York Air Show Pilot
The annual Air Show is still scheduled to begin Saturday at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, according to officials.
By Alfred Branch (Patch Staff)
August 28, 2015
Updated at 4:49 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28, 2015: New York State Police released the following statement with additional details about Friday’s fatal air show crash:
On Friday, August 28, 2015 at approximately 2:00 pm, a single-engine civilian aerobatic pilot who was flying a GILES 202 crashed and perished during practice for this weekend’s New York Air Show at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor.
The GILES 202 aircraft appeared to have experienced an apparent structural failure. The plane entered into a steep dive and landed in a wooded area on Town of New Windsor property (behind the crowd line).
The pilot, who was the only occupant of the aircraft, was deceased at the scene. No other property damage or injuries were reported. Officials are withholding the name of the pilot until the notification of next of kin. The joint investigation of the accident scene is being conducted by New York State Police and the National Transportation Safety Board. The New York Air National Guard also responded immediately to the scene.
The remainder of Fridays’ flying activities were canceled due to the tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the deceased pilot.
The New York Air Show activities this weekend will go on as scheduled. All established safety protocols will continue to be followed and enforced.
Updated at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28, 2015: The Orange County Department of Emergency Services issued the following statement Friday afternoon concerning the fatal crash:
Orange County’s Department of Emergency Services has confirmed that there has been a fatal accident involving a single-engine aircraft practicing for the New York Air Show on Friday afternoon at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor.
County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus, the County’s Department of Emergency Services, the State Police and the Federal Aviation Administration are on the scene of the accident. Practice for the day has been cancelled. The New York Air Show is still planned to take place as scheduled on Saturday and Sunday at Stewart Airport.
No additional information is available at this time.
Updated at 3:02 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28, 2015: A pilot reportedly was killed Friday during a practice flight at the New York Air Show at Stewart International Airport.
The Independent reports the crash occurred at about 2 p.m. WABC-TV writes that it received confirmation from a Orange County official that the pilot was killed.
No other injuries have been reported.
Original story: A plane crashed during a practice flight Friday at the New York Air Show at Stewart International Airport, according to reports.
Whether there were injuries is not immediately known.
Twitter user @BLGranucci had a photo of what appeared to be the tail of the plane broken off while in-flight, but he had not given permission for its use, and he has since removed the photo from his account.
Photo: Steward International Airport
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| Date: | 28-AUG-2015 |
| Time: | 14:00+ |
| Type: | Giles G-202 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N18FJ * |
| C/n / msn: | 018 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Near Stewart International Airport (KSWF), Newburgh, NY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Stewart Intl (KSWF) |
| Stewart Intl (KSWF) |
The aircraft experienced an inflight breakup and impacted terrain while maneuvering at Stewart International Airport (KSWF), Newburgh, New York. The airplane was destroyed and the sole pilot onboard received fatal injuries.
* Registration unconfirmed.
Sources:
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000047113.html
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=179079 http://abc7ny.com/news/plane-practicing-for-ny-air-show-crashes-killing-pilot/960733/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/crash-new-york-air-show-leaves-pilot-dead-article-1.2340772
http://airshowny.com/events/event/sunday-sequence-of-flight/
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=18FJ
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giles_G-202
https://vimeo.com/87300503
http://hudsonvalleynewsnetwork.com/2015/06/28/new-york-air-show-coming-to-stewart/
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2015/May/04/SWF_drill-04May15.html