Plane crash kills 1; pilot survives with serious injury
April 7, 2021
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GREAT VALLEY, N.Y. (AP) A man died Wednesday afternoon in a small airplane crash in New York that the pilot survived with broken bones and burns, authorities said.
Cattaraugus County Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb told the Olean Times Herald that the single-engine plane crashed about 2 p.m. Wednesday shortly after it took off from the Great Valley Airport.
A witness told first responders the plane appeared to have trouble after taking off, the Times Herald reported.
A man flown to a Buffalo hospital with serious injuries claimed to be the pilot, Sheriff’s Capt. Ronald Lott said. He is expected to survive.
A single-engine plane crash Wednesday afternoon in Cattaraugus County has killed one man and seriously injured another.
Cattaraugus County Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb told the Olean Times Herald that an eyewitness told him the plane appeared to have trouble right after takeoff from the Great Valley airport. Whitcomb also note that the debris field was pretty significant.
Deputies are working to identify the fatality from the crash. Mercy Flight took the injured man to a Buffalo hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, including burns to his face and hands.
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GREAT VALLEY One man was killed and another seriously hurt in a single-engine plane crash Wednesday in Cattaraugus County.
The Olean Times Herald, citing Cattaraugus County Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb, said a witness noted that the plane appeared to have trouble upon takeoff from the Great Valley Airport, located north of Salamanca.
“There is a pretty significant debris field,” Whitcomb told the Olean Times Herald.
A medical helicopter took another occupant of the plan, described as a male, to a Buffalo hospital for treatment of burns to his face and hands, the sheriff told the Olean newspaper. The injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, he added.
OBSERVER Staff Report
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The Cattaraugus County Sheriffâs Office recently introduced K-9 Silas, a 14-month-old Labrador retriever. The K-9 and Deputy Kale Luce work at the Randolph Central School District, where the deputy is assigned as the school resource officer.
LITTLE VALLEY The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office has welcomed its newest member to the force K-9 Silas, a 14-month-old Labrador retriever.
Silas began working with the Sheriff’s Office in December 2020 with partner, Deputy Kale Luce. The pair is a certified Law Enforcement Investigative Therapy Canine Team, according to Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb in a news release.
The two attended the Paws and Stripes College at the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in Cocoa, Fla., where they successfully completed the United K-9’s Law Enforcement and Multi-Discipline Therapy Dog Training course, as well as the AKC Canine Good Citizen test.
A Fredonia man has pleaded guilty in federal court to drug charges.
U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced Wednesday that Nathaniel Gates Jr., 47, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to possessing with intent to distribute, and distributing, 28 grams or more of crack cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth T. Molisani and Charles E. Watkins, who are handling the case, stated that in April 2015, the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating the drug trafficking activities of the defendant in Chautauqua County. During the investigation, investigators made three controlled purchases of narcotics from Gates. Investigators also executed a search warrant at the defendant’s Brigham Road apartment in Fredonia and recovered illegal narcotics and items commonly used in drug distribution.