Richard Rockefeller, the nephew of former vice president and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, died on Friday morning when he crashed in his Piper Meridian in poor weather soon after takeoff from Westchester County Airport outside New York City.
Rockefeller, 65, had flown his PA-46 from his home in Maine to celebrate his father David Rockefeller’s 99th birthday. The single-engine turboprop took off from Westchester County’s Runway 16 at 8:08 a.m. and crashed a short time later near homes in Purchase, New York, about a mile south of the airport. There was no distress call from the airplane. Visibility at the time was reported as one-half mile in fog and rain.
Rockefeller, a doctor, lived in Falmouth, Maine, and had been headed for his home base at the Portland International Jetport. He served as president of the Health Commons Institute, a nonprofit organization, and chairman of the U.S. Advisory Board of Doctors Without Borders.
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