An Indian-origin woman has died while her daughter and the pilot instructor were severely injured in a small plane crash in the New York area when they were on a 'demonstration flight', media reports said.
Roma Gupta, 63, and her daughter Reeva Gupta, 33, were on board the small plane on Sunday as its pilot reported smoke in the cockpit before crashing near Long Island homes, NBC New York reported.
Roma was killed when the four-seater single-engine Piper Cherokee plane went down in flames as it was returning to the Republic Airport on Long Island from where it had taken off.
'The two patients critically injured, severely burned, to my knowledge they were pulled from the plane by a civilian,' North Lindenhurst Fire Department Chief Kenny Stallone said.
Reeva is in critical condition at Stony Brook Hospital with third-degree burns. Reeva is a physician's assistant in the Mount Sinai system, whose colleagues say she has a long, painful, recovery ahead.
The 23-year-old pilot instructor operating the plane was also in critical condition Monday, according to the Danny Waizman Flight School, which owns the plane.
Oleh Dekaylo, the attorney for the Danny Waizman Flight School, said the pilot had all his ratings and certifications, and the plane involved in the crash had just passed two stringent inspections, most recently last week.
'It was a demonstration flight, an introductory flight, to see if people are interested' in flying lessons, Dekajlo told NBC.
The flight path shows the plane went over the South Shore beaches. Then the pilot reported smoke in the cabin, which he radioed Republic Airport air traffic controllers, the News12 New Jersey Web site reported.
The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation to deterthe cause of the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating the crash.
Federal investigators are expected to return to the crash site for a third time on Tuesday to remove the wreckage for further analysis.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe created for the Gupta family has raised more than $60,000.
