A renowned Manhattan doctor crashed a small plane in New Jersey yesterday, killing herself, her stepson and his wife, authorities said.
Dr. Margaret Smith, 70, a leader in the field of arthritis and rheumatology, was trying to land at the Essex County Airport at around 5:30 p.m. when she suddenly pulled up, Fairfield, NJ, police said.
She then lost control of the Cirrus SR22, which crashed and burst into flames about 200 yards from the runway in a grassy area near several businesses.
The bodies of Smith, Michael Ferguson, 44, and his wife, Theresa, 47, were found amid the scorched wreckage.
No one on the ground was injured.
Smith, a dean at the New York Medical College in Westchester, lived in the West Village with her husband, Matt Ferguson, also a doctor.
“She was a very lovely lady, a wonderful disposition,” recalled her neighbor Scott Hoyte.
“She always seemed to have a smile on her face; a very lovely person.”
The family members were flying from upstate Plattsburgh, where they owned a home and spent the holiday weekend.
Smith also ran a business out of her West 11th Street home with another stepson, Tim, which helped nurses get jobs in the area.
The plane, which was owned by Smith, was similar to the Cirrus that Yankee pitcher Corey Lidle and his instructor flew into an Upper East Side apartment building in 2006, killing them both.