Indian American Woman Killed, Daughter Critically Injured in Plane Crash in Long Island
- Mother and daughter had booked a flight lesson to spend a “beautiful day" together.
An Indian American woman was killed, and her daughter critically injured, in a plane crash in North Lindenhurst in New York, on March 5. Roma Gupta, 63, of New Jersey, was killed, while Reeva Gupta, 33, was critically injured in the crash, with third-degree burn, NBC News reported, citing Suffolk County police.
The pilot, Fayzul Chowdhury, 23, of the Bronx, is also in critical condition. Both Reeva and Chowdhury were airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, the NBC report said.
Reeva is a physician’s assistant in the Mount Sinai system. According to a GoFundMe page, the mother-daughter “had a beautiful day planned together.” They had booked a flight lesson in Long Island “to help fulfill a long-standing wish of theirs,” the fundraising page said.
While the flight was airborne, smoke was reported in the cockpit. The plane tried to make an emergency landing but ultimately crashed into a neighborhood in Lindenhurst, where the plane burst into flames.“There were no injuries on the ground or damage to any homes,” the report added.
Oleh Dekajlo, the attorney of Danny Waizman Flight School, which owns the plane, told News 12 New Jersey that the flight was purchased off Groupon by the mother and daughter from the state. He said Chowdhury had all his ratings and certifications, and the plane involved in the crash had just passed two stringent inspections last week.
