April 14 (UPI) — Federal authorities said they are investigating the fatal crash of a plane with six people on board in upstate New York over the weekend.
The Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 airplane crashed at 12:06 p.m. EDT Saturday about 10 miles from the Columbia County airport near Craryville, N.Y., which is located within the town of Copake.
Todd Inman, a board member with the National Transportation Board, told reporters during a press conference Sunday that investigators have arrived at the scene and expect to be there for at least a week.
The aircraft had crashed in a flat agriculture field, he said. The scene was about 100 yards in length with the plane “being compressed, buckled and embedded into the terrain,” according to Inman.
He would not say how many of the six people on board died, but stated, “all six were removed from the scene.”
“We have no one hospitalized at this time,” he said.
The NTSB has obtained video showing the plane was intact and that it crashed into the ground following what Inman described as a descent at a high rate of speed.
Albert Nixon, the lead NTSB investigator on the case, said the pilot had reported a missed approach at the airport and had requested guidance from an air traffic controller shortly before the crash.
He said that as the air traffic controller was updating the pilot, a low altitude alert was triggered. The controller tried to contact the pilot but was unable to contact them, despite at least three additional attempts.
“There was no response from the pilot and there was no distress call,” Nixon said.
According to Inman, the plane had departed Westchester County Airport. The pilot had been certified to fly and had flown for a number of years, he said, adding the passengers were a family traveling to to attend a holiday celebration.
“On behalf of everyone at the NTSB, I want to express our sincere condolences for the survivors of the families and everyone who knew someone that perished in this accident,” he said. “We’re truly sorry.”
The NTSB expects to produce a preliminary report into the crash within 30 days and a full investigation report within 12 and 24 months.