Was Under Contract With Defense Department For Training Purposes

An airplane that went down in a lake in the Adirondack mountains last Thursday lost its propeller in flight, according to a New York State Police official.

The aircraft, which was based in North Carolina, was flying in support of a Vermont Air National Guard training exercise conducted out of Fort Drum in Jefferson County, NY. The Boston Globe reports that the airplane was an experimental home-built Jabiru.

North County Public Radio reports that State Police Capt. Francis Coots said the plane was flying at about 6,500 feet en route to Rome, NY, when the propeller came off during the flight. The pilot, Benjamin Brown, issued a mayday call and managed to successfully ditch the plane in Gull Lake in a remote region of the Adirondacks. The pilot and his passenger were able to exit the airplane after it came to a stop, and were reportedly standing on the shore when they were picked up by a Vermont National Guard Black Hawk helicopter. The plane was recovered, and it is being examined.

In a news release, the Vermont National Guard said "The Department of Defense regularly contracts civil aircraft to provide support for training exercises. The crash occurred in a remote location and will not affect public safety. A formal investigation will take place and until the investigation concludes no other information is available at this time."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov