Victims identified after MacArthur Airport small plane crash kills 2

LONG ISLAND - The two men killed in a small plane crash at Long Island MacArthur Airport were identified by authorities on Tuesday, as authorities continue to look into the incident.

Police have identified the pilot as 46-year-old Christopher Kucera and his passenger as 43-year-old Zachary Hatcher.

According to preliminary reports, there was no mayday call in the moments leading up to the crash.

The aircraft will be transported to a hangar for further investigation.

Kucera’s brother Michael told FOX 5 NY that the two were visiting friends on Long Island, and they were going back home to Virginia when the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza crashed.

"My brother was commercially rated, multi-engine rated and IFR rated," he said. "He could fly in bad weather, and I’ve flown through snowstorms with him and watched him land in zero visibility."

In the coming days, the NTSB will be looking into the engineering aspects of the aircraft. 

"We have three credible witnesses all said the same thing," said Aaron McCarter, an Aviation Accident Investigator with the NTSB. "They saw the aircraft take off, it looked normal, and then they heard popping and sputtering with one witness saying the engine stopped producing power. The airplane was 100 to 150 feet in the air. It took a nosedive and crashed and impacted terrain about 150 feet off the runway."