Victims of Plane Crash Identified
TRENTON—The Maine State Police has identified the victims of Thursday’s plane crash in Trenton. According to Maine State Police Public Information Officer Shannon Moss, “The pilot is 71-year-old Michael Leibowitz of Charleston, South Carolina, and the passenger is 57-year-old Christina Chung of Livingston, NJ.”
“The single engine aircraft had caught fire upon impact and was destroyed,” said Moss. Leibowitz was piloting the plane. The FAA Airmen Registry says that he had a private pilot certification since 2004.
Multiple fire agencies and emergency crews responded to the crash, which occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. as the plane was approaching the runway.
According to FlightAware, a 2015 Cirrus Sr-22 belonging to Miller High Life Aviation, was scheduled to land at the airport at 12:30. The plane took off at 10:16 a.m. from Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey and had an approximate two-hour fight.
The crash occurred at the end of the runway on the north side of the airport during foggy conditions. Officials were on the scene throughout Thursday afternoon. Both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. Other flights were prohibited on Thursday. Some were diverted to Bangor International Airport.
The fire was put out at approximately 1:22 p.m. Other agencies stayed to help mitigate any potential environmental hazards in the area. A representative from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection also responded.
The Trenton Volunteer Fire Department reported that the town received mutual aid from Lamoine, Bar Harbor, and Ellsworth. The Maine State Fire Marshal, Maine State Police, and Hancock County Sheriff’s Department all assisted. Both Northern Light and Peninsula Ambulance were on scene.
If you’d like to donate to help support us, you can, but no pressure! Just click here.
After the full investigation it’ll answer some questions like when was his last medical. The plane was brand new this year with less than 100h. Based on the description it sounds like a low altitude stall.
The weather was soupy. Was it an ifr landing with spacial disorientation? Cirrus really has reputation a for this
Sad either way.
SAD