BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary investigation report on two deadly plane crashes that occurred in Western New York.
The first occurred on May 28, 2023, the NTSB said the pilot and passenger of a Luce Buttercup aircraft were killed when it crashed near Lyndonville. They were later identified by the Orleans County Coroner's Office as 70-year-old Earl J. Luce Jr of Brockport and 72-year-old Morris Wortman of Rochester. The NTSB said the flight was operated as a personal flight.
According to the NTSB, one witness reported he heard a low-flying plane and then saw some pieces fall off and then lost sight of it. Another witness said it banked right while flying and when it leveled off the wings came off and it spun or barrel rolled into a field. According to the report, the wings were located a quarter mile east of the wreckage which was retained for further examination.
The second occurred on June 6, 2023, the NTSB said two Canadian-certificated pilots were killed when a Cirrus SR22T crashed near Jamestown. They were later identified by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office as 52-year-old Roger Jay Ryall of Toronto, Canada and 52-year-old David J Hughes of British Columbia. The NTSB said the flight was operated as an instructional flight.
According to the NTSB, witnesses said and data showed that the plane departed and performed one touch-and-go landing on runway 31 uneventfully. During the initial climb after the second touch-and-go landing on runway 31 the airplane banked left when it was about 100 to 200 feet in the air, leveled, banked right, and was followed by deployment of the Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System (CAPS). The plane then crashed in a wooded area within the airport grounds and caught fire.
"The wreckage came to rest upright, oriented north, and was mostly consumed by fire. No debris path was observed, and the deployed CAPS was observed next to the wreckage. The empennage remained attached and was partially consumed. The remote data module sustained thermal damage but was recovered from the empennage and forwarded to the National Transportation Safety Board Vehicle Recorders laboratory, Washington, DC, for data download. The forward cockpit section and instrument panel were destroyed. Both wing ailerons and flaps had separated and were partially consumed. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to all control surfaces," the report says.
In addition to these two deadly plane crashes, a third deadly plane crash occurred in the Town of Porter on June 11. 7 News has reached out to the NTSB for an update on that crash as well.
