A small plane crashed into a commercial building in Bohemia Saturday and burst into flames not far from Long Island MacArthur Airport, Suffolk County police tell the Press.
Though some details are unavailable since the incident is still under investigation, police say, at least two people—a student pilot and his flight instructor—were taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center and hospitalized. Police describe the pilot’s condition as “serious” as of 8 p.m.
The crash occurred near the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Veterans Highway at about 3:07 p.m., police add. The plane, a Beechcraft Muskateer, was on fire and firefighters responded to the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the pilot had been practicing landings at MacArthur when the plane crashed about a half-mile from the runway.
The fliers had been practicing “touch and go” landings, in which the pilot immediately takes off after his wheels touch the tarmac, said FAA spokesman Jim Peters. Two people were aboard the plane, he added.
“The plane is completely disintegrated. There’s nothing left,” said Michael Ruggiero, who owns a furniture factory near the crash site. “It’s a pile of rubble, and all I can see is the tail of the plane.”
Ruggiero added that the single-story manufacturing building hit by the plane appeared to have suffered “mostly broken windows.” The building was unoccupied, police said.
With Associated Press.
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