What started as a fun-filled Young Eagles event on Saturday at the Buffalo-Lancaster Airport in Lancaster, New York, with philanthropic pilots giving rides to young potential aviators, ended in tragedy as a Cessna 172 and an experimental Searey collided. The pilot of the Cessna and his 14-year-old passenger died in the crash that resulted from the collision while the pilot of the Searey and the 9-year-old who was riding along survived a forced landing with minor injuries.
The Searey pilot, Kevin D’Angelo, told The Buffalo News his airplane was severely damaged in the collision. “The only way to control it was to crash into trees and bushes,” he said. “It was basically a forced crash, smashing into the trees as a brake.”
