A small plane crash in the Town of Enfield, New York, has claimed the lives of two men who shared a deep passion for aviation.
The victims were identified as 52-year-old David Kornreich, the aircraft’s owner and a physics professor at Cornell University and Ithaca College, and 31-year-old Andrew R. Harrell, a passenger who was working toward becoming a professional pilot.
Both men were aboard a 1977 Lake LA-4-200 when the aircraft crashed Sunday afternoon near North Applegate Road.
The plane was cleared for takeoff from Ithaca Tompkins International Airport at 11:24 a.m., with final radio contact made around noon. About 12:35 p.m., a witness reported seeing the aircraft go down and said it appeared to have suffered a mechanical failure.
Kornreich was pronounced dead at the scene. Harrell was transported to Cayuga Medical Center in critical condition but later died from his injuries.
Tragically, Kornreich had helped train Harrell to fly, making the loss especially poignant. Both men were described as people who loved aviation and enjoyed sharing their passion for flying with others.
No one else was injured, and no buildings or other structures were involved.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash. The exact cause remains unknown.
