Stunt Plane Crash Kills Pilot During Practice For New York Air Show

A stunt plane crash in New York on Friday led to the death of pilot Andrew Wright of Texas. The incident happened ahead of the New York State Air Show that was slated to take place this weekend. Wright was the only one on the plane at the time of the crash.

The New York Daily News details that the stunt plane crash happened when Wright was flying the propeller-driven airplane on Friday afternoon. The crash happened near the New Windsor, New York Stewart International Airport. Wright had done a preview flight with a reporter earlier on Friday and was slated to fly in the weekend show.

At this point, the cause of the stunt plane crash is unknown. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Wright had been practicing for the weekend show when the crash happened. Authorities detail that the plane, a Giles G202 experimental plane, went into a steep dive and then crashed into a wooded area. At this point, police indicate that they believe there was a structural failure with the aircraft.

Jack Mager, a man who lives near the crash site, indicated that he saw the plane do some stunts and then it simply disappeared. Photographer Benjamin Granucci happened to photograph the flight as it went down. He notes that Wright’s plane did a number of tricks, went into a dive, then did a steep, corkscrewing climb.

During the climb, the plane apparently slowed down, and soon Granucci saw it head into an off-limits area. He didn’t see the plane hit the ground, but he heard it. He notes that when he reviewed the photos he took during the incident, he saw some pictures where it appeared that the tail section twisted off as the plane flew.

All Things Aero details that Wright was going to do the Atlantic City Air Show after the New York show, and he was planning to try to break the Inverted-Flat-Spin World Record set by Spencer Suderman. Wright, who has been stunt flying since 2001, seemed confident and excited about the stunts and shows ahead.

While further practices for the show were canceled for Friday, the New York State Air Show will go on as planned over the weekend. Those who knew Andrew Wright and his work are mourning the passing of the air show performer who was said to be a fantastic performer with a great deal of potential. The investigation into the stunt plane crash continues.

[Image via Pix11]