Small Airplane Accident in Ghent
Ghent, NY- Columbia County Sheriff David P. Bartlett reports that Deputy Sheriff’s responded to the Kline Kill Airport in the Town of Ghent this morning for an accident involving a small airplane.
At 10:01am, Columbia County 911 dispatched Deputies to the Kline Kill Airport, located at 1771 County Route 21 in Ghent, NY for a reported airplane crash. A nearby resident, who heard the crash was the initial caller to 911. The Kline Kill Airport is a privately owned airport, with a grass runway.
Sgt Heath Benansky arrived on scene, and located the airplane, which had crashed in to the wooded area along the side of the runway. The airplane was being piloted by 69 year old Stephen Clearman of Ghent, NY. Clearman is also the owner of the airplane, a 2011 “Waco Classic” fixed wing-single engine aircraft. There was one passenger in the plane, a 73 year old man, also from Ghent, NY.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Clearman was attempting to take off, and the left wing of the airplane clipped a tree alongside of the runway. This caused the plane to spin around, and crash in to several other small trees, before coming to rest in the wooded area. Clearman and his passenger were uninjured in the crash.
The FAA was contacted and will be sending representatives to the crash site for further investigation and inspection of the airplane.
Members of the Sheriff’s Office on scene investigating this crash along with Sgt Benansky were Undersheriff John Davi, Lieutenant Louis Bray, Investigator KC Bauhoff, Deputy Steven Rose and Deputy Ryen Boehme. The Ghent Fire Department was also on scene assisting.
