JAMESTOWN, N.Y. – The two men killed during a plane crash at the Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport on Tuesday afternoon have been identified.
Around 2 p.m. first responders, including airport personnel, the Fluvanna Fire Department and mutual-aid agencies, were dispatched to a grassy/wooded area northeast of the airport’s main terminal for a single engine plane crash.
When crews arrived on scene, they discovered the aircraft fully engulfed by fire with an on-board parachute deployed. After quickly extinguishing flames, an immediate search for victims began with local law enforcement using drones and receiving aid from STAT Medevac.
Since then, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have launched an investigation.
Sheriff Jim Quattrone, with assistance from the Chautauqua County Coroner, confirms remains of two male victims were discovered within the wreckage. Quattrone identified the pilot as 52-year-old Roger Jay Ryall of Toronto Canada and the plane’s passenger as 52-year-old David J Hughes of British Columbia.
While a full investigation will be conducted by the NTSB and FAA, preliminarily it’s believed the aircraft, a Cirrus SR-22 with tail number C-GNMT, was flying from Erie, Pa. to an airstrip in Waterloo, Ontario when the plane stopped to refuel in Jamestown, NY. Shortly after taking off, the crash occurred.
The airport has since reopened to aviation traffic following the incident. An investigation by the NTSB and FAA continues.
