Small plane crash caused death of one in upstate New York

Officials are investigating the cause of a small plane crash that left one person dead in upstate New York State.

The plane, a single-engine Cessna 208B that was used in skydiving flights, went down shortly before 1 p.m. local time Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced.

The plane was heading back to a local airport to land after its load of skydivers had jumped, according to a statement from the Niagara County Sheriff’s office. The office said it is not clear how many divers were on the plane.

The plane crashed northeast of Fort Niagara State Park.

The pilot was the only person on the plane when it crashed. The plane had been conducting parachute operations, the office said. The pilot’s name had not been released pending the notification of family members.

The crash sparked a brush fire, which was extinguished by members of the Youngstown Volunteer Co., Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti said at a news conference Saturday.

Filicetti called the crash “an unfortunate accident” and said local officials are working with national investigators to determine its cause.

“Well, I think this is like any other emergency-type incident. … You get here, you want to try to preserve life. Unfortunately, in this case, we couldn’t do that,” Filicetti said at the news conference Saturday.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived on the scene late Saturday.

The NTSB will investigate the pilot, the airplane and the environment during the time of the crash. The wreckage will then be moved to another location for further examination.