An Indian-origin woman has died in a small plane crash in the New York area, while her daughter and the pilot were injured when they were on a “demonstration flight” to learn flying, according to media reports. Roma Gupta (63) died on Long Island on Sunday when the four-seater single-engine Piper Cherokee plane burst into flames while returning to Republic Airport on Long Island, from where it had taken off. According to NBC New York TV channel, his 33-year-old daughter Riva Gupta and the pilot are in the hospital with serious burns.
“It was a demonstration flight, an introductory flight to see if people were interested in learning to fly,” Oleh Dekajlo, a lawyer for the Danny Wiseman flight school, told the channel. A crash in a residential area of Lindenhurst that skidded houses and crashed into a field was captured on home surveillance cameras.
An eyewitness told CBS New York TV, “In my opinion, the pilot did a great job trying to avoid any houses, people and traffic.” Riva Gupta is a neurosurgery physician assistant with the Mount Sinai Hospital System, according to an appeal set up by colleagues on GoFundMe.
“To help fulfill her long-standing wish, she booked a flying lesson,” according to the appeal that has raised nearly $70,000 as of Tuesday evening to help Riva Gupta and her family. It states that she is “fighting for her life.” “With third-degree burns all over his body.
WABC-TV reported that the 23-year-old pilot, a certified flight instructor, issued a “Mayday” call – the aviation distress signal – that there was smoke in the plane before going down.