Pilot Was Sole Occupant Of Aircraft

A man from Rock Hill, NY died Saturday afternoon as a result of an accident in his aircraft at Cherry Ridge Airport in Wayne County. The Scranton, PA, Times-Tribune reports Jeffrey Gilbert, 67, had been pronounced dead at Geisinger Community Medical Center two hours after an accident at the airport in Cherry Ridge Township. Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland said “The incident is being investigated by the NTSB.”

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the circumstances of the crash, which occurred just after noon, remain under investigation. She had no further details to provide, other than Gilbert was flying a 1973 Cessna Cardinal. Emergency services from White Mills and Honesdale responded to the accident, and responders took life-saving measures to keep Mr. Gilbert alive. White Mills Fire Chief Michael Hill said the aircraft’s tail section was leaning against a tree and the nose gear was found 25 feet from the remainder of the wreckage.

He added that the plane was carrying about 50 gallons of fuel when it crashed."We had to use our foam on it to make sure it didn't catch fire," the chief said. "You could smell the fuel."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov