Tue, Sep 01, 2015
Plane Went Down Friday In Orange County, NY
A pilot practicing for the New York Air Show in New Windsor, NY was fatally injured Friday when the Giles G-202 aerobatic aircraft he was flying suffered a catastrophic in-flight failure and went down.
Television Station WABC posted raw video of the flight that shows portions of the tail coming off the aircraft as it pulled out of a dive. A close-up view posted on the station website shows the plane with both horizontal stabilizers and the vertical stab missing.
In a statement, the FAA said that "A Cornell W F/Sahakian JA Jr. Giles G 202 experimental aircraft crashed shortly after it departed from Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, NY at about 2 p.m. today. Check with local authorities on the condition of the pilot, the only person onboard. The pilot of the aircraft was scheduled to participate in an airshow at Stewart Airport this weekend. The FAA will investigate and the NTSB will determine probable cause."
The pilot was identified as Andrew Wright with Carbon Fiber Airshows. New York's Warner Cable Channel News 1 reported he was a 53-year-old chief technology officer for a cyber security company based in Toronto, Canada. He had been flying competitively since 2001.
In a statement, the New York State Police said that "The Giles 202 aircraft appeared to have experienced an apparent structural failure. The plane entered into a steep dive and landed in a wooded area on Town of New Windsor property (behind the crowd line).
The pilot, who was the only occupant of the aircraft, was deceased at the scene. No other property damage or injuries were reported. Officials are withholding the name of the pilot until the notification of next of kin. The joint investigation of the accident scene is being conducted by New York State Police and the National Transportation Safety Board. The New York Air National Guard also responded immediately to the scene.
The remainder of Fridays’ flying activities were canceled due to the tragic accident."
The Air Show went on as scheduled Saturday and Sunday and included a tribute to Wright, according to reports.
(Image from file. Not accident airplane)
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