Illegal CFI Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter After Fatal Crash

Man whose certificates were revoked for ‘lack of demonstrated competence’ continued to instruct, leading to a 2022 accident that killed a student pilot.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, October 20, 2025 at 03:33 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The Piper Cherokee that crashed September 28, 2022, in Pennsylvania was largely destroyed in a postcrash fire. [Credit: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

A New Jersey flight instructor, Philip Everton McPherson II, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges after a 2022 crash killed his student.
McPherson had been teaching without a valid flight instructor certificate since 2021, having surrendered it due to a "lack of demonstrated competence" after failing an FAA reexamination.
The flight school owner, Nouman Saleem, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction for allowing McPherson to instruct, agreeing to pay restitution to students.
The fatal 2022 crash, attributed to a partial loss of engine power, occurred during a soft-field takeoff attempt, and McPherson faces a maximum of 153 years in prison.

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A New Jersey flight instructor who had his certificate pulled for a “lack of demonstrated competence” but continued to teach has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges stemming from a 2022 crash that killed a flight student.

According to LehighValleyLive.com in Pennsylvania, 37-year-old Philip Everton McPherson II, 37, pleaded guilty to 43 of the 44 charges he faced in exchange for the government agreeing to withdraw one count of conspiracy to defraud the FAA. These counts stem from serving as an airman without a valid certificate.