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Damn it. Another one....
June 03, 2006
Single-engine plane crashes, killing pilot
HAMPTONBURGH FATALITY
By Greg Bruno and Michael Randall
Times Herald-Record
gbruno@th-record.commrandall@th-record.comCampbell Hall - The pilot of a single-engine plane preparing to land at Orange County Airport was killed yesterday when he crashed into the woods off Route 416, less than four miles from the runway.
State investigators said the plane was registered to Thomas C. Dayon, 53, of West Milford, N.J. A body bag prepared by the county coroner at the crash scene was labeled with his name.
There was no one else aboard.
A person at Dayon's home declined comment last night.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing a plane's engine sputtering and what sounded like a crash just before noon yesterday. Police immediately launched a search helicopter, but it took time to find the wreckage in the heavily wooded area.
Police said the plane may have had engine problems, but the accident remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
"We heard something that sounded like it crashed into our garage," said Jackie Anderson, who lives next door to the crash site. "It was like 'Woosh, BANG!' I knew whatever it was, it was full impact."
Fritz Kass, director of aviation at Orange County Airport, said the Federal Aviation Administration reported receiving a low-altitude alarm in the area around the time of the crash. But there was no emergency locator signal indicating a downed plane.
That led Kass and others to hope the aircraft had made a soft landing and that the pilot simply was unable to contact anyone by radio or cell phone.
Police, firefighters and other rescue workers began scouring the area on the ground, including the county-owned Thomas Bull Memorial Park, while state police helicopters searched from the air.
Shortly after noon, they found the wreckage, tucked about a quarter-mile in the woods off Route 416, just north of Campbell Hall. It was 3.6 miles from the airport.
"It's heavily damaged," said state police Capt. Wayne Olson. "I'm trying to find a graceful way of saying this. It was difficult to locate from the air."
It was the first fatal plane crash near Orange County Airport since May 1999, when a plane traveling from Wurtsboro to Montgomery crashed on approach.
Dayon was reportedly an experienced aviator who was instrument-rated, meaning he'd likely spent many hours in the cockpit. Yesterday he was flying a 1988 Lancair 360, a high-performance kit plane built for speed.
The plane took off from Greenwood Lake Airport in West Milford, N.J. for the 35-mile flight north. Kass said the plane was coming to Orange County for maintenance, but Olson said Dayon was flying to meet another pilot. Whatever the reason, he never made it. Shortly after 11:30 a.m., cruising at 1,000 feet and with the airport in sight, something went wrong.
Kass said the pilot notified an air traffic controller that he was near the airport and was switching from an instrument-controlled flight to visual on a different frequency.
Pilot dies in Orange County plane crash
Kingston Daily Freeman, NY - Jun 2, 2006
MONTGOMERY - A single-engine plane crashed Friday on its approach to the Orange County Airport, killing the pilot. State police ...
NJ Man Killed in Small Plane Crash
6abc.com, PA - Jun 2, 2006
MONTGOMERY, NY (AP) - June 2, 2006 - A single-engine plane crashed today on its approach to a New York Airport, killing a New Jersey man. ...
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