Officials in New York have launched an investigation Saturday after a person died in a small plane crash in Niagara County.
The single-engine Cessna 208B—a plane used for skydiving—crashed near Lake Road near Youngstown, New York, shortly before 1 p.m., according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The airplane from the Skydive the Falls skydiving center had released all divers and was heading back to land when it crashed, according to a news release from the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday.
The pilot, who was the only person on board, was conducting parachute operations prior to the crash, Tammy L. Jones, a spokesperson for the FAA, told CNN Saturday.
It is unclear how many divers were on board before the crash, Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti said at a news conference Saturday.
A brush fire also reportedly began around the crash site, according to the release. The initial responding crew had to put out “a significant fire at that point,” Filicetti said.
The sheriff called the plane crash “an unfortunate incident” and added that local and federal law enforcement partners are working to determine what led to the crash.
“Well, I think this is like any other emergency-type incident. … You get here, you want to try to preserve life. Unfortunately, in this case, we couldn’t do that,” Filicetti said.
A National Transportation Safety Board investigator is expected to be traveling to the crash site on Saturday, NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson told CNN.
The investigator will document the airplane wreckage, which will then be moved to a secure facility for further evaluation, Knudson said. The investigation will involve three primary areas: the pilot, the aircraft, and the operating environment.
The pilot’s name was not released pending family notification, according to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office’s statement.
CNN says it has reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment.
