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The cause of the crash, which happened at a school in Yorktown on June 29, 2023, was detailed in a report released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday, July 24.
On the day of the crash, just after noon, Yorktown Police were notified by a resident that a small plane had crashed on the property of the Shrub Oak International School in Mohegan Lake at 3151 Stony Street.
Arriving officers confirmed that a single-engine plane had crashed on the school property, which resulted in the building being placed on lockout.
Police also found the pilot conscious and alert outside of the wreckage.
The pilot, identified as a 66-year-old Tuckahoe resident who owned the plane, said that he had been flying from Westchester County Airport to Orange County Airport when mechanical issues made it impossible for him to gain or maintain altitude.
He then had to quickly find a safe place to make a hard landing and chose the school's property as a suitable spot.
According to the NTSB report, an examination of the aircraft after the crash revealed fatigue cracking on the turbocharger housing.
Officials then determined that the failure of the turbocharger housing resulted in a reduced quantity of intake air being available to the engine, causing a partial loss of engine power.
The pilot, whose name was not released, suffered minor injuries in the crash.
According to the pilot and the plane's maintenance records, the aircraft, a Diamond DA40 NG, was last inspected in June 2022, at which time it had accumulated 740 total operation hours since its construction in 2017.
The maintenance log entry or this inspection noted that the turbocharger had been inspected and lubricated as required.
A review of the engine's maintenance manual also revealed the turbocharger should be inspected for oil leakage, mechanical wear, and other damage every 100 and 300 hours of operation.
No criminality was found to be associated with the crash, police said.
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