An aviation training instructor whose training certificate had expired was sentenced to federal prison for a 2022 plane crash in Allentown that killed a student-pilot, Keith B. Kozel, who formerly lived in the Back Mountain.
Philip McPherson II, 37, of Riverside, was sentenced by Eastern U.S. District Judge John M. Gallagher to 78 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on charges of involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obstruction of an administrative proceeding, and 40 counts of serving as an airman without a certificate.
Kozel, 49, grew up in Dallas and graduated from Scranton Preparatory High School and Penn State University. He founded an IT Consulting firm in Easton, where he resided at the time of his death. While attending Scranton Preparatory, Kozel was on the boys’ soccer team as well as the men’s soccer team at Penn State Lehman campus.
Kozel was killed when a Piper-28-140 aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Queen City Airport in Allentown on Sept. 28, 2022.
According to a news release from U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania David Metcalf, McPherson took off as the pilot-in-command of the aircraft with Kozel in control. Shortly after takeoff, the plane’s engine sputtered, with McPherson taking control of the aircraft that crashed into trees near the airport.
Kozel was killed in the crash, while McPherson was severely injured.
The news release says McPherson’s license to be an aviation trainer had been suspended, but he continued to train pilot students.
“Specifically, McPherson knew that he was not competent to safely operate the aircraft because he had two prior crashes and almost a third, he failed his Sept. 29, 2021, reexamination for his pilot’s certificate for a lack of demonstrated competence, he voluntarily surrendered his pilot’s certificate on Oct. 7, 2021, acknowledging his lack of competence, and he allowed his Temporary Airman Certificate to expire on Nov. 8, 2021, acknowledging his inability to demonstrate to the Federal Aviation Administration his competency to fly safely,” the news release says.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Federal Aviation Administration, and Salisbury Township Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Schopf and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Miller prosecuted.
McPherson was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, a $4,300 special assessment, and nearly $20,000 in restitution.
