Inflight Breakup Suggested

A late Friday afternoon aircraft accident has taken the lives of three people, including two person being transported on an Angel Flight NorthEast mission. The aircraft involved, a PA-34 twin-engine Seneca was reported to have come apart before impacting the ground in a wooded area in Ephratah, NY. Much of the wreckage has come to rest in a pond, so recovery is difficult and expected to take some time before the aircraft is completely recovered.

The accident took the life of Angel Flight Pilot of John Campbell (70), of Stamford, CT, as well as Frank and Evelyn Amerosa of Utica, NY. Mr. Amerosa was being transported by Angel Flight due to brain cancer. The flight was en route to Rome, NY, when the accident occurred. The accident took place just after 1700 local time, and the wreckage is a reportedly scattered over an area that is reported to be some five miles wide. No radio communications or other data supports a possible cause for the inflight breakup though witnesses report the aircraft involved in some extreme attitudes prior to impact.

Angel Flight Northeast (AFNE) reports (in a statement released Saturday) that it is, "assisting authorities in Fulton County, NY as it investigates a plane crash that occurred early this evening. AFNE was notified at 5:45 p.m. by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Nashua, NH that the FAA had lost contact with an Angel Flight traveling from Bedford, MA to Rome, NY. At approximately 6:30 p.m., the Fulton County, NY Sheriff’s Department notified Angel Flight NE of a report of an aircraft down. AFNE confirms that a flight was scheduled today between Bedford, MA and Rome, NY with a pilot and two passengers on board.

Fulton County authorities have since informed AFNE that two people are confirmed dead in the crash and the search for the third individual continues. The identities of the individuals have not been released.

“Angel Flight NE staff and volunteers are tremendously saddened by this tragedy and we all offer our thoughts and prayers to the families of those affected,” said Larry Camerlin, founder and president of Angel Flight Northeast. “Our volunteer pilots are the most compassionate and generous individuals who donate their time, aircraft and fuel to transport patients and loved ones for free to essential medical care that would otherwise not be readily available to them. There are no words that can adequately express our sorrow.”

FMI: www.angelflightne.org