A small airplane crashed while departing from an airport on Long Island, killing both people on board at the time, according to officials.
The aircraft, a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza A-36, was departing from MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma around 6:15 p.m. when it crashed, officials said. An airport employee who witnessed the incident said the plane tried to return to the runway shortly after getting airborne, but went down.
"We have three witnesses all reported the same thing: They saw the aircraft take off, popping and sputtering. The engine stopped producing power at that point," said Aaron McCarter, an aviation accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The plane had gone up 150 feet in the air when it took a nosedive back onto the runway.
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The only two people on board — 46-year-old pilot Christopher Kucera and his partner, 43-year-old passenger Zachary Hatcher — were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. No other injuries were reported.
Kucera and Hatcher lived on a historic farm they just renovated in Port Royal, Virginia, Kucera's brother told NBC New York, but had been on Long Island visiting friends.
"We are devastated, the whole family is devastated...I pray for my brother and my life long best friend," an emotional Michael Kucera said over the phone. "I know that Chris died doing what he loved most with the person he loved most. So we are grateful for that."
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Michael said his brother was a very skilled pilot who got his pilot's license at just 17 years old. He had flown through snow storms and other dangerous weather conditions before. He loved aviation so much he studied aeronautical engineering in college and had likely logged around 1,500 hours in the plane.
"This is not the case of an inexperienced pilot. This is a case of engine failure as far as I can tell," said Michael Kucera
The plane had just received its annual inspection not long ago. It was not clear where the plane was heading.
NTSB investigators were examining the wreckage on Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration was also looking into the crash.
An official cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The runway will remain closed as the investigation continues.
