Small plane crashes on Long Island street, 2 hurt

April 10, 2016

Hannah Patrick,

BAYPORT, NY (AP) — A pilot and a passenger were injured when a single-engine airplane heading to upstate New York crashed on a street in a residential area on Long Island shortly after taking off from a nearby airport.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini says the Piper 28 experienced engine trouble and was attempting to return to the Bayport Aerodrome when it clipped a tree and utility lines before crashing at an intersection in Bayport at about 7 p.m. Sunday.

Sini says local firefighters rescued the pilot, 34-year-old Scott Clifford, and a passenger from the burning plane. He says Clifford was hospitalized in serious condition with two broken legs and a head injury.

The passenger, identified as 65-year-old Michael Rome, was expected to be OK. No other injuries were reported.

The FAA is investigating.

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This story has been corrected to show age of injured passenger is 65 and not 66.