Police: New Jersey woman killed, 2 people injured in North Lindenhurst plane crash

A Ring video shows the plane flying low, striking trees and bursting into flames.

News 12 Staff

Mar 6, 2023, 10:26 AM

Updated 641 days ago

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A mother from New Jersey died in Sunday's fatal plane crash in North Lindenhurst, according to Suffolk County police.
Suffolk County police say 63-year-old Roma Gupta was killed in the crash. Her daughter 33-year-old Reeva Gupta, of Pennsylvania, was critically injured.
Suffolk County police have identified the pilot as Fayzul Chowdhury, 23, of the Bronx. He is also in critical condition at Stony Brook University Hospital.
"He is commercially rated, he also has an instrument rating and was certified as a flight instructor," said Oleh Dekajlo, the attorney for the plane's owner.
Police say the small plane took off from Republic Airport in East Farmingdale with three people on board at 2:18 p.m.
Suffolk County police say the pilot was on a tourist flight and the flight path shows the single-engine Piper Cherokee plane that went over the South Shore beaches. Then the pilot reported smoke in the cabin, which he radioed into Republic Airport air traffic controllers.
Police say the aircraft turned back toward the airport to make an emergency landing before crashing near the intersection of Wellwood Avenue and Fifth Street in North Lindenhurst around 3 p.m.
A video from a Ring doorbell shows the plane flying low, striking trees and bursting into flames. It crashed just 300 feet south of Long Island Rail Road tracks.
Dekajlo says the flight was purchased off Groupon by the mother and daughter from New Jersey.
There were no injuries on the ground or damage to any homes.
The Federal Aviation Administration was notified and responded to the scene.
Farmingdale State College aviation director Dr. Michael Canders says pilots are trained in emergency procedures like smoke in the cockpit or an engine fire. He says an emergency like that requires an immediate landing, but that as a plane is landing, it's going slow and can stall causing a crash.
"So, you are near what is potentially or near the stall speeds, so if you get distracted at that low altitude, it's very important that the pilot not lose that situational awareness, not get too slow and stop flying," Canders says
DeKajlo tells News 12 that the plane had gone through numerous inspections, including one just recently.
"There was a 100-hour inspection at the end of January and approximately a week ago there was a 50-hour inspection," DeKajlo says.
The National Transportation Safety Board will continue the investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
The attorney says the flight school turned over all the books and records to the FAA and NTSB on Monday.
A GoFundMe has been started for the family of Roma and Reeva Gupta