WESTHAMPTON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) –
A body was been recovered near Long Island after a small plane went down in the water late Saturday morning.
The FAA says the South Carolina-bound plane took off from Danbury Municipal Airport in Connecticut and went down three miles south-southeast of Francis S. Gabreski Airport shortly before noon.
Tim Carbone was working at the nearby Oceanfront Surf Club at the time, and says he thought it was a stunt plane.
“I was looking to see if I could find the plane and I couldn’t see it, and then ‘phoom,’ it was done,” he said. “It was like the engine was stopped immediately.”
A debris field and oil sheen was eventually located near the reported crash site. In total, three people were aboard the aircraft when it went down according to the FAA. The New York Air National Guard and multiple local police and fire departments were assisting in the search for the other two passengers.
The identity of the person whose body was found wasn’t immediately known, nor was the identity of the other passengers.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board work to determine the probable cause of the accident.
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Narrative:
A light plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Long island approximately 3 miles south-southeast of Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach. It was carrying three persons. A debris field and oil sheen was located near the estimated crash location.
There was at least one eyewitness of the crash. "And then the engine went up even to a higher, screaming and screaming, and then all of a sudden quiet. It happened instantly. I saw three pieces of plane, separate trajectories heading towards the ocean, and they were just kind of going down like a leaf, you know?" says Quogue resident.
The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that one body has been recovered near Long Island.
Sources:
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Small-Plane-Down-in-Water-Off-Hamptons-Coast-Coast-Guard-497423641.html
https://abc7ny.com/plane-crashes-in-water-off-long-island-coast-faa-confirms/4476005/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-6273019/Authorities-Small-private-plane-crashes-Hamptons.html
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/10/13/small-plane-in-water-body-recovered/
Date: 13-OCT-2018
Time: 11:40 LT
Type:
Piper PA-34
Owner/operator: Private
Registration:
C/n / msn:
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
Other fatalities: 0
Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: off the Hamptons, Quogue Canal, NY -
United States of America Phase: En route
Nature: Private
Departure airport: Danbury Municipal Airport (KDXR)
Destination airport: South Carolina