National Transportation Safety Board Report Released on Westchester Plane Crash That Claimed Life of Monsey Resident

By Rockland Daily Staff

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary findings on the tragic December 12, 2024, airplane crash near Greenwich, Connecticut. The accident involved a Tecnam P2008 aircraft, which claimed the life of Monsey resident R' Yakov Friedman, z”l, and left another individual seriously injured. The report provides detailed insights into the events leading up to the crash, including communication with air traffic controllers, mechanical concerns, and witness accounts.

On December 12, 2024, about 1846 eastern standard time, a Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam P2008, N298PM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Greenwich, Connecticut. The commercial pilot was fatally injured, and the private pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight.

According to preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control audio and Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data, after takeoff about 1809 from runway 27 at Linden Airport (LDJ), Linden, New Jersey, the flight turned left and proceeded north over the Hudson River. About 1820, one of the pilots contacted the Bravo position of the LaGuardia air traffic control tower (ATCT) and advised the controller that the flight would proceed northbound over the Hudson River and then subsequently informed the controller that the flight was en route to Albany, New York. At 1826:42, the controller directed the pilots to contact New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (New York TRACON), and the flight was subsequently cleared to climb to 3,500 ft msl into Class B airspace.

At 1839:16, one of the pilots advised the controller that they wanted to divert to Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York because they were, “…losing our engine” (At this time, the airplane was about 10 nautical miles nothwest of the approach end of runway 16 at HPN). The controller informed the flightcrew they could make a right turn then proceed direct HPN, then subsequently informed them that they could proceed straight-in for runway 16. The ADS-B flight track data showed that the airplane turned right and proceeded towards HPN, then about 1840:46, one of the pilots advised the controller that they, “…switched fuel tanks and it looks like it’s we got our engine back for now….” The controller questioned that the engine was working and that they wanted to continue towards HPN, and one of the pilots replied “affirmative.” The controller provided the wind at HPN and asked if they wanted to continue for runway 16 or enter the airport traffic pattern for runway 34.

One of the pilots advised they would enter the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern for runway 34, to which the controller replied they could make either left or right traffic. The flight continued towards HPN attaining a barometric altitude of 2,050 ft, then at 1842:39 while flying at 1,950 ft and about 4.7 nautical miles northwest of the approach end of runway 16, one of the pilots advised the New York TRACON controller, “we’re losing our engine again…” and would proceed straight in for runway 16. The controller cleared the flight to land while the airplane continued towards HPN while descending.

Airport video surveillance from HPN depicted the airplane making a steep left turn and descending while above Interstate I-684. The airplane then climbed quickly and then steeply descended below the tree line. A witness who was driving south on I-684 reported seeing the airplane about 1/2 mile ahead of his position. He noted that he did not hear any sound associated with the airplane and could not tell if the engine’s propeller was rotating. He observed the airplane “fall very fast out of the sky and crash in the center median.” The witness went to the accident site. He did not smell any fuel or see any evidence of fire, and was able to pull one occupant out from the left side of the airplane before Westchester County Police arrived.

The airplane came to rest upright leaning to the left in the narrow median between the north and soutbound lanes of I-684 with the outer portion of the right wing extending over the guardrail and shoulder adjacent to the western most edge of the northbound lanes. The wreckage was recovered the night of the accident to HPN for examination which revealed that all major portions of the wreckage were accounted for. The left fuel tank drain sump area was breached due to impact damage and was leaking fuel after the accident, but the tank contained 0.3 gallon of 100 low lead (100LL) aviation gasoline, while the right fuel tank which was not breached contained about 9 gallons of 100LL fuel. Examination of the flight controls for roll, pitch and yaw revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. Initial examination of the engine did not reveal any evidence of a catastrophic mechanical failure or malfunction.

The wreckage was retained for further examination. Additionally, two personal electronic devices, and two Garmin electronic flight displays with Secure Digital (SD) cards were retained for read-out at the NTSB’s Vehicle Recorders Division.