News
Plane crashes in farm field
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| State Troopers along with EMS and fire personnel stand by the scene of a small plane that flipped over in a field in Clermont Wednesday. According to State Police, the pilot, Jay Morrissett, was attempting to fly the plane from Concord, N.H. to Kingston when he experienced engine trouble and tried to land in the field. (Robert Ragaini/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers) |
Pilot escapes without serious injury
By Andrew Amelinckx
A Virginia man flying from New Hampshire to Kingston crash landed his small plane in a Clermont field Wednesday.
According to the New York State Police, which investigated the accident, Jay Morrissett, 50, was having fuel problems with his newly-purchased 1946 ERCO Ercoupe and was forced to land in a field adjacent to Route 8 in the town of Clermont.
Morrissett had begun to land his low-winged monoplane in a nearby cornfield before briefly getting it started again. Seconds later he was again forced to try and land the plane.
The vehicle’s nose hit an embankment and flipped onto its back. Morrissett suffered minor cuts and abrasions and was treated on scene by Northern Dutchess Paramedics.
The Clermont Fire Department was also on scene.
Morrissett left from Concord, N.H., and was heading for the Kingston airport with a final destination of Virginia.
The land where the accident occurred is owned by Howard Kilmer who was on his tractor in another field and heard something but was unaware that a plane had crashed on his property until he was returning to his barns a short time later.
According to State Police Sr. Inv. Gary Mazzacano, the plane would remain where it crashed until Federal Aviation Administration agents could investigate the matter Friday.
The National Transportation Safety Board will most likely become the lead agency in the investigation. The agency is responsible for conducting independent investigations of all civil aviation accidents in the United States.
Five years ago a similar incident ended with the death of two people approximately two miles away.
In that case, the 69-year-old pilot of the single engine plane, Axel Robert Gunneson, from Fulton County and his passenger, Joseph Peselli, from Montgomery County, were en route from Long Island’s MacArthur Airport to the Fulton County Airport Oct.10, 2004 when the plane crashed.
The NTSB determined the crash was due to pilot error in that case.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
According to the New York State Police, which investigated the accident, Jay Morrissett, 50, was having fuel problems with his newly-purchased 1946 ERCO Ercoupe and was forced to land in a field adjacent to Route 8 in the town of Clermont.
Morrissett had begun to land his low-winged monoplane in a nearby cornfield before briefly getting it started again. Seconds later he was again forced to try and land the plane.
The vehicle’s nose hit an embankment and flipped onto its back. Morrissett suffered minor cuts and abrasions and was treated on scene by Northern Dutchess Paramedics.
The Clermont Fire Department was also on scene.
Morrissett left from Concord, N.H., and was heading for the Kingston airport with a final destination of Virginia.
The land where the accident occurred is owned by Howard Kilmer who was on his tractor in another field and heard something but was unaware that a plane had crashed on his property until he was returning to his barns a short time later.
According to State Police Sr. Inv. Gary Mazzacano, the plane would remain where it crashed until Federal Aviation Administration agents could investigate the matter Friday.
The National Transportation Safety Board will most likely become the lead agency in the investigation. The agency is responsible for conducting independent investigations of all civil aviation accidents in the United States.
Five years ago a similar incident ended with the death of two people approximately two miles away.
In that case, the 69-year-old pilot of the single engine plane, Axel Robert Gunneson, from Fulton County and his passenger, Joseph Peselli, from Montgomery County, were en route from Long Island’s MacArthur Airport to the Fulton County Airport Oct.10, 2004 when the plane crashed.
The NTSB determined the crash was due to pilot error in that case.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
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