A young pilot died in a “sudden” crash in New York shortly after a group of skydivers landed his plane.
The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that 26-year-old Melanie Georger died while flying her single-engine Cessna plane, which crashed Saturday on the Niagara Scenic Parkway, about 15 miles from Niagara Falls.
The accident occurred when Ms. George was attempting to land the plane. Independent informed of.
“Where it fell was right off the parkway. We look west near Fort Niagara, it’s full of football players today,” County Sheriff Michael Filicetti said in an interview with WIVB on Sunday.
“We’re lucky it landed where it did, but it’s an unfortunate incident.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.
The victim worked at Skydive The Falls in Youngstown, New York. Jeffrey Walker, one of the skydivers, said he exited the plane about 30 minutes before the accident.
“Everything was great,” he said. “The weather was great, the winds were low, the winds were very calm. Everybody was excited. Everyone was in a good mood.”
The passenger said that when the plane crashed rapidly, he suspected that something was wrong.
“It’s not like skydiving planes fall out of the sky once a week and you somehow survive,” he said. “This is a random accident. Something went wrong.”
“For some reason God left me on earth and I’m blessed that I’m still alive,” Walker told the TV station. “It’s a weird feeling that I was on that plane, just half an hour before it crashed. Why didn’t it crash with us? Why didn’t it crash with more people? It’s unreal.”
Mr Walker described Ms Georger as a good pilot who was very good at her job.
“I feel really bad for the business and the company she was working for, because they’re a great company,” he said. “I thought they did a great job with the training.”
George’s father, Paul Georger, released a statement on Facebook following her death.
“Friends and family, my life as I know it ended today. My beloved daughter, my best friend and one of the two lights of my life passed away suddenly today,” he wrote.
The tribute added: “Melanie was a pilot who was on the verge of realising her dream of flying for the airlines. She was doing what she loved, flying for a local skydiving company when her plane crashed. She had just dropped off her passengers and was heading back to pick up another load when her plane crashed. Kelly, Tim and I are so saddened. She was only 26.”
