The sole survivor of a Long Island plane crash may have been at the controls for a test flight when the small aircraft went down, authorities believe.
“It is my understanding that the airplane was for sale,” said Brian Rayner, an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
Erik Unhjem, 61, of upstate Goshen was critically injured when the 21-year-old single-engine Socata TB10 went down in residential Shirley on Sunday.
The crash killed his wife, Jane, 60, and another man, whom Suffolk cops confirmed yesterday was the plane’s owner, licensed pilot David J. McElroy, 53.
Authorities weren’t sure whether McElroy or Erik Unhjem, also a licensed pilot, was at the controls.
Unhjem remained in critical condition with severe burns at Stony Brook Hospital.
Rayner, speaking at Brookhaven Calabro airport, where the wreckage was taken, confirmed witness reports that the falling plane had been steered away from a house.
“The witness that I spoke with gave us a very strong impression that it was the pilot’s intent to avoid his house,” he said.
The plane left Calabro at 11:58 a.m. and crashed seconds later less than a mile away, narrowly missing a home belonging to Darnell Lee, 26, who tried to put out the flames with a garden hose.
Investigators are looking at pilot error or mechanical failure as the cause.
It may take them weeks or even months to determine the cause.
Pals said Unhjem, a publishing exec, loved planes.
“Erik had a serious passion for planes and aviation. It’s been a lifelong thing for him, as far as I know. He loved to fly and be flown around,” Erik Wieben said.
The Goshen school district, where Jane Unhjem was an assistant superintendent, was in mourning.
“Jane was outstanding. She only wanted what was best for her kids and the best for her staff. What I really admired about her was her passion for the job. She never missed a concert, never missed a school play,” Superintendent Daniel Connor said.
There were no radio calls or maydays before the crash because Calabro is an “uncontrolled” airport without a radio tower.