Plane over upstate NY loses door mid-flight; search for door ongoing
Newsy
A small plane lost one of its doors on Monday and investigators are hoping to find it to help them with their probe.
According to Cheektowaga, New York, police, a call for assistance was received from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport around 6 p.m. Monday after a small plane carrying two people reported losing a door while flying over the area of Stiglmeier Park.
Police said the plane landed safely and they have not received any reports of any injuries or damage to any property at this point. Officers searched the area but were not able to find the door.
According to FlightAware, the plane is a Diamond Star (piston-single) (DA40) owned by Hundred Dollar Hamburger LLC in Rochester. The plane was only in the air for about seven minutes.
The plane took off from Signature Aviation at 5:39 Monday night. It headed south toward Stiglmeier Park, but the flight path suddenly changed after the emergency. The pilot looped the plane and landed back at the airport.
Audio of the communications between the plane and air traffic indicated that occupants of the plane reported there was an emergency and they were heading back to the airport. Air traffic control received the message and told them to proceed inbound, then asked to provide the nature of the emergency when they were able to. The occupants of the plane then reported they lost the rear door.
