2 Small Planes Collide Mid-Air, Kill All Aboard

3 New Yorkers were part of a group flying out to get breakfast
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 25, 2016 12:58 PM CDT
2 Small Planes Collide Mid-Air, Kill All Aboard
A Piper Cherokee airplane sits in this file photo.   (AP Photo/The Galveston County Daily News, Kevin M. Cox)

Two private planes collided Sunday in Western New York, reports the Buffalo News, killing all three aboard. The two aircraft—a Cessna 120 and a Piper Cherokee—were apparently part of a larger group of six flying out of the airport in Hamburg, NY, en route to get breakfast in St. Mary's, Pa., and return later Sunday. "We're all shaking in our boots now," says Hamburg Airport's vice president, Larry Walsh. Both pilots, one a 60-year-old and the other a 69-year-old accompanied by his 69-year-old wife, had at least 15 years' experience flying. But "there are a number of blind spots," when planes fly in groups together, says Walsh. There's no official cause of the crash as yet, notes the AP, and the FAA and NTSB will investigate. Says a resident of North Collins, where the planes went down: "I just heard planes flying and a really loud smash." (More plane crash stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X