Metro

Pilot dead after small plane catches fire, crashes into Long Island neighborhood

The pilot of a small plane was killed today when his aircraft caught fire in midair and crashed into a vacant lot in a Long Island neighborhood, authorities said.

The male pilot died and his two passengers – believed to be a husband and wife – suffered serious burns, according to Brookhaven town supervisor Mark Lesko.

After catching fire, the blue four-seater Cessna hit a tree before slamming into a dumpster on the ground and coming to a fiery rest on Helene Avenue, Lesko said.

“We suddenly heard sputtering. We looked up in the sky and there was a huge fireball,” said neighborhood resident Wayne Wachter. “You could hear it first hit the tree and then just crash right into the ground.”

The plane took off from Brookhaven Airport immediately before the crash – and it appears that the pilot purposely avoided homes as he brought the plane down, Lesko said.

Neighbors rushed outside with garden hoses to try to extinguish the flames, Lesko said. The two passengers were able to escape the flames but the pilot was not.

The body of the pilot remains inside the wreckage, Lesko said.

There were no injuries on the ground, said Brookhaven town spokesman Jack Krieger.

Brookhaven Airport shut down immediately after the crash, according to an employee.

“I didn’t want traffic going over the accident,” said airport worker Tony Dee.

The plane is registered in Florida and has been at Brookhaven Aiport for about a month, Lesko said.

“The whole neighborhood is in a state of shock,” Lesko said.

Suffolk County police say people were taken to a hospital with burns, but didn’t immediately know how many were injured. Stony Brook University Medical Center says two patients have been taken there. Their names and conditions aren’t immediately available.

With AP