58°
Officers responding to the crash report near the Blairstown Airport saw the glider plane upside down in a grassy area near the airport just before 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 15, the Blairstown Township Police Department said in a Monday release.
An off-duty police officer worked with bystanders to remove the pilot from the plane and begin CPR as the Blairstown Ambulance Corps and Blairstown Hose Company were called to the scene.
Efforts to revive the pilot were ultimately unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
According to on-scene witnesses, the pilot was trying to land the plane when it hit the top of a few trees and crashed into the grassy area.
The pilot was the only person aboard the plane at the time of the crash, police said. His name had not yet been released.
“The Blairstown Police Department sends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victim,” police said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Fair Lawn-Glen Rock and receive free news updates.
