A Bedford Hills, N.Y., man whose company provides digital navigation equipment used by both pilots and mariners was killed Sunday afternoon when his Danbury-bound airplane crashed while trying to make an emergency landing in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Amir Tirosh, 52, owner of AirGator Inc., based in Mount Kisco, N.Y., was at the controls of a single-engine Piper Cherokee that took off from Orange County Airport in Montgomery, N.Y., just before 1:15 p.m. en route to Danbury Municipal Airport.
About halfway into the 50-mile flight, Tirosh reported oil-pressure problems and was diverted to the Dutchess County Airport. The plane crashed in the woods about four miles southwest of the runway.
Tirosh was killed and his passenger, Daniel Bisk, 53, of Pleasantville, was seriously injured.
The plane came down about 1:30 p.m., according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters.
FAA personnel were at the scene, along with deputies from the Dutchess County Sheriff’s office.
“He lost engine power and crashed in a wooded area southwest of the airport,” Peters said.
Neither police nor Peters could say where injured man was taken.
The plane was registered to Ayalon Flight Services of Mount Kisco, a division of AirGator, according to the company’s Web site.
Tirosh , a native of Israel who served in the Israeli Air Force in the 1970s, came to the United States about 30 years ago.
Trained as a computer scientist, he ran a information technology consulting firm in Manhattan before moving to Westchester County, where he rediscovered his love of flying and earned commercial ratings on both single and multi-engine aircraft.
(Source: News Times)
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10 Responses
Gotta wonder if there is more to this than an “accident”???
#1 I’m not sure why gotta wonder?
bd”e
#2 Yehuda, – Yes, it COULD have just been an accident, BUT look at the facts – a computer expert, a former IAF pilot (the best in the world) flying a small plane (that can land in even a very small open area) a plane belonging to a subsidiary of his own (Hebrew-named) company, – no report on where the injured man was taken? (why not?). Yes, it COULD have been an accident.
If he was killed, which dumb person wouldn’t think that he’s a “former” pilot?!?
“#5” – not JUST a former pilot, a former Israel Air Force pilot! There’s a huge difference.
#5, please read the facts of the story before comenting. Thank you #6 for clarifying.
#’s 6 & 7, you misunderstood me. What I meant to say was that if he was killed than of course he gets the title of “former” Israel Air Force pilot! And #5, please read the comments correctly before commenting on the comments!!!
#8 – Yes, I think it is obvious to all of us, not just you, that if he was niftar, he is a “former” pilot. The point of the title of the article was to inform us that he had, davka, been FORMERLY, a pilot in the IAF.
#1 and 4.
You clearly do not know the facts, so let me enlighten you. Yes, Amir was a computer expert and a former IAF pilot. He flew a small plane that did belong to a subsidiary company. Thats all you got right.
Daniel Bisk, the passenger, was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center where he stayed in critical condition until his death in early December.
As for his landing, he landed in the only place possible. A narrow strip of trees that was surrounded by houses. He wanted to land on Route 9 but discounted the idea because there was too much traffic. He did everything that he could to make sure the least amount of people were hurt.
Now, I don’t know if you guys were suggesting that my father up and killed himself, or that someone killed him, or whatever. That is not the case. Accidents happen. One of the oil pistons was broken and it contaminated the engine. Read the NTSB report.
As for why it doesn’t say where Daniel Bisk was airlifted to, it’s a mixture of HIPPA Laws and their inability to talk about an investigation as it is happening.