October 03, 2016 - 9:24 PM
NORTH COLLINS, N.Y. - The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary findings into a fatal midair plane collision in New York.
The NTSB says witnesses reported seeing a plane fly into another plane that had taken off earlier, shearing off the first plane's tail before both planes crashed.
Both pilots and a passenger were killed in the Sept. 24 accident in North Collins, about 20 miles south of Buffalo. The two planes were the first of six to take off for a group outing to Pennsylvania.
The NTSB says the first plane, a Cessna, left before the others because it was slower and needed more time to reach the destination. A Piper followed.
Paul Rosiek (ROH'-zehk), of Hamburg, was killed in the Cessna. Richard and Kathleen Walker, of Eden, died in the Piper.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016