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Preliminary Findings Come Out On Deadly Small Plane Crash In Shirley

SHIRLEY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – Preliminary findings are out on the small plane crash that killed two people and critically injured a third two weeks ago in Shirley.

The National Transportation Safety Board said witnesses reported that the single-engine plane was flying slowly and used almost the entire length of the runway at Brookhaven Airport before it took off.

One neighbor told authorities that he saw the plane just above the trees at the back of his property, and then watched as it descended below the height of his one-story house. It pitched up and climbed, and then struck a tree and a dumpster before bursting into flames.

The plane's owner, David McElroy of Orient, was reportedly taking a Goshen couple for a test flight before they bought the plane.

McElroy and the woman were killed, and her husband was badly hurt.

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