Passenger Critically Injured When Piper Cherokee Went Down Near Dutchess County Airport

The pilot of a 1974 Piper Cherokee, who owned the navigation technology company AirGator Inc., was killed and his passenger critically injured Sunday when the aircraft experienced engine problems and went down in the woods in New York State's lower Hudson valley.

Multiple media sources report that the pilot, 52-year-old Amir Tirosh of Bedford Hills, New York, and his passenger, Daniel Bisk, 53, from Pleasentville, New York, departed Orange County airport about 1314 Sunday enroute to Danbury. About 15 minutes later, Tirosh reported an oil pressure problem was diverted to Dutchess County Airport in Wappingers Falls, New York, where he intended to attempt an emergency landing.

Bruce Bloomer, who lives near Dutchess County Airport, said he heard the plane fly overhead, then silence followed by what he described to the regional newspaper The Journal-News as a "huge explosion." The terrain at the crash site is hilly and wooded, and rescuers had to walk to the accident scene.

The Cherokee was registered to  Ayalon Flight Services, a subsidiary of AirGator. Tirosh held commercial ratings for both single and multi-engine aircraft.  AirGator makes electronic flight bag products, and its customers include NASA, the Navy and the Marine corps.

The accident is still under investigation.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov