Federal officials are investigating after a New York pilot died in a plane crash Sunday in a neighborhood near the intersection of Good Luck Road and Auburn Avenue in New Carrollton, Maryland.
Maryland State Police identified the pilot as Gordon Allen, 61, of The Bronx, who was flying a Grumman American AA-5. The single-engine aircraft has four seats and was built in 1978.
“It’s a very common airplane used in flight training, but it’s also used to go on vacation and travel,” National Transportation Safety Board investigator Doug Brazy said.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said Allen was on his way to Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York.
At the scene of the small plane crash in New Carrolton the @NTSB examines the wreckage and collects the pieces of the plane. @WTOP pic.twitter.com/FaeRRBjgZL
— Mike Murillo (@MikeMurilloWTOP) December 30, 2019
Brazy said an instrument flight plan was filed before Allen took off from College Park Airport. Three minutes later, the plane made a hard right turn and dropped off radar.
It crashed around 3 p.m., roughly 3 miles south of the airport. The plane struck trees, a car and damaged two homes. Allen was the only person on the plane.
No one on the ground was injured. Multiple streets close to 6300 Chestnut Ave. in New Carrollton were blocked off as police and fire departments responded to the crash. At least 18 houses in the neighborhood lost power due to the crash.
Prince George’s County spokesman Mark Brady said emergency crews found “bits and pieces of a small aircraft strewn across the area.”
Brazy said electronic devices were found but it is unclear if any recorded flight information, because private pilots are not required to have “black box”-like equipment.
He also said it’s too early to determine a cause, and that Allen was properly licensed and had an instrument rating.
The NTSB is handling the investigation into the cause of the crash.
A preliminary report on the crash should be available in approximately 10 days, but the investigation likely will take about 18 months to complete, Brazy said.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo and Dan Friedell contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
