Two people are dead after a plane practicing takeoffs and landings crashed into some trees at a Suffolk County airport.
There were three people on the plane, a flight instructor, a pilot and a rear seat passenger. The pilot, identified as the owner of the aircraft, Richard B. Rosenthal, age 61, of Huntington Station, was rescued from the wreckage and airlifted to the State University Medical Center at Stony Brook. The flight instructor, who was killed, has been identified as Arieh Narkunski, age 64, of Brooklyn. The passenger, also killed, has been identified as Robert A. Wilkie, age 65, of Hempstead.
The investigation is continuing with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigating the crash
The FAA says the Navion F aircraft crashed around 11:40 a.m. Sunday at Frances S. Grabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach.
The airport is used by corporations and private plane owners, as well as the 106th Rescue Wing of the Air National Guard. It was built by the federal government in 1943.