Tail Of The Small Twin Was Left Suspended From The Wires

The pilot of a single-seat homebuilt twin engine airplane was seriously injured when he struck power lines near Doylestown Airport (KDYL) in Bucks County, PA, Saturday. He later passed away as a result of those injuries. The accident reportedly occurred shortly after takeoff from the airport located just north of the Philadelphia metro area.

The pilot has been identified as 69-year-old John Szabo of Buckingham, PA. The aircraft was a twin-engine Wilson Cri-Cri, according to a report on the online site PhillyBurbs.com. The Allentown Morning Call reports that, according to FAA records, the plane had been built from a kit by William Wilson in 1992, and registered to Szabo.

The plane struck the power lines around 1145 EDT, according to local authorities. A witness told television station KYW in Philadelphia that she saw the tail of the airplane suspended from the wires. Other witnesses said that there was wreckage scattered around the grass near the impact site.

The pilot was pulled from the plane, which was reportedly on fire, by passers by. He was airlifted to Temple University Hospital where he died Sunday. His death was not reported by the hospital until Monday, according to the Morning Call.

The accident caused scattered power outages in the region, and a highway near the accident scene was shut down for hours, according to the report.

The NTSB said the plane departed from runway 23 at KDYL, and went down near the intersection of Highways 313 and 611.

(Cri-Cri pictured in file image captured from YouTube Video. Not accident airplane.)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov