Plane CrashesVersion 2

One Dead in Experimental Airplane Crash Near Wallkill, New York

The accident record lists one person aboard and one fatality in the September 27 crash of a Glasair Super II FT; the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 7, 2026, 10:37 a.m. ET

One person was killed when a single-engine experimental airplane crashed near Wallkill, New York, on September 27, 2025, at about 6:18 p.m. local time, according to the accident record. The record lists one person aboard and one fatality, and describes the aircraft as destroyed. The investigation is developing and details may change. The accident record identifies the aircraft as a , registration , and classifies the flight as a Part 91 general aviation flight. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. The cause has not been determined. Aircraft registry records list as a single-engine piston landplane with a Lycoming IO-360-B1E engine, serial number 2339, built in 2003 and 22 years old at the time of the crash, registered in the United States. The registry lists the registered owner as Cotter Gerald; the owner of record is not necessarily the operator, the pilot, or otherwise connected to the flight, and may not have been aboard. A registry-derived aircraft-ownership directory lists an owner recorded under the same name for the same 2003 Glasair Super II FT, ; it has not been confirmed that these records refer to the same person, and the listing shows no occupation or organisational role. Geographic reference data places the Town of Wallkill in Orange County, New York, at a settlement elevation of 597 feet — a figure for the town, not for the accident site — and 2.4 miles SSW of Randall Airport (06N), 6.4 miles ENE of Orange County Airport (KMGJ) and 9.2 miles WSW of Lewis Landing Airport (NK79). Weather observations recorded at Orange County Airport, 6.4 miles away and 24 minutes from the reported time, showed calm wind, visibility of 10 statute miles, clear skies and a temperature of 72°F. Those are instrument readings at a nearby field and are not a statement about what happened. The NTSB investigation remains open.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Registration: N45BT
Type: Toop Thomas A GLASAIR SUPER II FT — single-engine piston landplane
Engines: LYCOMING I0-360-B1E
Built: 2003-01-01 (22 years old)
Registered owner: Cotter GeraldThe owner of record is not necessarily the operator, the pilot, or otherwise connected to the flight.
Terrain elevation: 597 ft
Nearest aerodrome: 2.4 miles NNE of Randall Airport (06N)

Sources

No sources recorded.

Revision history

Version 27 Aug 2026, 14:37current
Corrected the bearings between Wallkill and the three nearby aerodromes and clarified that the 597 ft elevation is for the settlement, not the accident site.
Version 15 Aug 2026, 20:35
First published.

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