Plane Crashes on Route 42 in Monticello; Pilot and Passenger Escape Unharmed

By Hamodia Staff

A small plane crashed and burned Friday on Route 42 near Linda Drive in Monticello, New York.

The pilot and his one passenger were not injured. Hatzalah services were not needed.

An aviation enthusiast popularly known as “Captain Koz,” who is on social media groups and follows websites dedicated to aviation and flight paths, spoke with Hamodia on Friday about the information he had gathered related to this incident.

“This was a 1966 Cessna Turbo 210 plane, commonly known as a T-210 and a Cessna Centurion,” said Captain Koz. “It has a lot of power, it’s a very capable aircraft. It’s a single engine airplane that has six seats including the pilot’s.

“This plane took off out of Sussex County, New Jersey, and appeared to be headed to Sullivan County or the immediate vicinity. The plane never got up more than 2,400 feet above sea level throughout the trip. In the area of Sullivan County, it was as low as 2,300 feet, and dropped off radar at about 2,200 feet. The area of Route 42 is approximately 1,600 feet above sea level, so he was about 600-700 feet above the highway.”

Captain Koz said at this point he could only speculate as to the cause of the crash.

“There’s no way to know yet what caused the crash — it may have been some kind of engine trouble, or he may have clipped a power line, a guy wire or a radar antenna.

“He appears to have landed pretty hard on the highway, because if it had been a smooth landing, he probably wouldn’t have ended up on fire. The plane ended up perpendicular to the highway; nomally, when someone touches down on a highway without hitting anything, and in full control, he comes to a stop parallel to the highway. It’s also possible that he touched down smoothly but — with a wingspan of 37 feet — the wing hit something after landing, like a car or a pole, which spun the plane and ruptured a wing, causing fuel to leak and ignite the fire that consumed the plane.”

Photos courtesy of Hillel Lichtenstein