His Daughter Was Fatally Injured In Orange, MA Accident

A Massachusetts grand jury has handed up an indictment against the pilot of a plane which went down last year in Orange, MA. The pilot's daughter was fatally injured in the accident.

Steven T. Fay is accused of involuntary manslaughter in the January 1, 2011 accident. His daughter, Jessica Malin, accompanied him on the flight. He was flying Cessna 310 for which he was not rated, and the court documents state he had been repeatedly warned not to fly the plane without an instructor on board. The accident happened at night during an approach to Orange Municipal Airport.

According to the NTSB factual report, the pilot stated to the Massachusetts State Police that he became a pilot in 1989 and has about five hundred hours of flight experience. For a period of 6 to 7 years he stopped flying and resumed about a year ago with an instructor. He purchased the accident airplane around May or June of 2010. About 1630 he and the passenger departed from EEN and flew over Franklin County where the pilot is originally from. He had decided to practice a “touch and go” landing at ORE before returning to EEN; the pilot mentioned he had flown to ORE previously. When the pilot approached the airport there was less ambient light than he’d anticipated and there was a “haze” in the air; he also found the airplane to lose altitude faster than his previous airplane. He recalled seeing white and red lights off to the left near the runway, believing there were a visual slope indicator. He was uncertain of what arrangements indicate a proper glide path onto the runway. As the airplane approached the runway, the lights started to flicker, at which time he applied full engine power. He was unaware of the tree until after the crash and he was on the ground. He reported no mechanical issues with the airplane prior to the accident.

The pilot, who was seated in the left seat, held a private pilot certificate with rating for airplane single engine land. He did not hold a multiengine rating. He was issued an FAA third-class medical certificate on September 10, 2010, with limitations that he must wear correcting lenses for distant and possess glasses for near vision. He had documented 500 total hours at that time. A review of the pilot’s flight logbook by FAA showed the pilot had about 50 hours of multi-engine instructional time. There was no multi-engine solo endorsement. The last entry for night time flight was in 2000.

NTSB information is not admissible as evidence in court.

Cessna 310 File Photo

According to a news release from the Northwestern District Attorney's office, Fay departed from Keene Dillant-Hopkins Airport in Keene, NH, at around 1630 EST on January 1st, 2011, and was practicing touch-and-goes at Orange Municipal about 90 minutes after sunset. In its indictment, the Grand Jury accused Fay of "unintentionally and unlawfully" causing his daughter's death by means of "wanton or reckless conduct."

“Mr. Fay was neither licensed nor qualified to fly that twin-engine plane without an instructor on board, and he was repeatedly warned as such, yet he nevertheless chose to fly the plane at night with a passenger on board without his instructor’s knowledge or approval,” said Northwestern First Assistant DA Steven E. Gagne. “His conduct unfortunately resulted in the tragic death of his own daughter, but it also endangered anyone who happened to be in his flight path, particularly those who live in the residential neighborhoods adjacent to the Orange Airport."

If convicted, Fay faces up to 20 years in a state prison. He could be sentenced to as little as probation or 30 months in jail.

FMI: www.northwesternda.org