Investigators search for cause of small plane crash on L.I.
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By LIDIA CURANAJ, @LidiaFox5NY
MYFOXNY.COM -
Two men were killed when their small plane crashed into the Moriches Inlet on Long Island Saturday afternoon, according to Coast Guard officials.
A lot of questions still remain as investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the plane to go down. The two victims were both men were from Queens, one was Cyril McLavin from Fresh Meadows, the other man Andrew Massana who lived in Bayside.
Pure panic, that's how witnesses describe the small plane crash.
"You could see he was in panic mode because the engine was just sputtering," said John a fisherman who witnessed the crash.
John was fishing on shore when he saw the Globe Swift plane go down on the East end of Fire Island around 3:00 p.m. after it took off just miles away.
The fisherman along with several other eyewitnesses then tried to rescue the two men inside the small plane by tying a rope to the plane in an effort to prevent it from sinking.
People in nearby vessels also tried to pry open the cockpit to rescue the two unconscious Queens men trapped inside.
But their efforts too were futile.
By the time emergency crews had arrived to the scene the plane had already sunk about 20 feet underwater.
Divers had a tough time after the crash dealing with the heavy tides and difficulty finding the cockpit because the plane was resting against a jetty.
"We did find the plane submerged with reports of two souls on board," said Mastic Fire Chief Robert Ubaldo.
According to Suffolk County Police, two teams of three divers each took turns going into the water before discontinuing around 9:45 p.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash.
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