Second East Haven Plane Crash Victim Identified

EAST HAVEN, CT — Police have identified the second occupant of Wednesday morning's plane crash as Rafayel Hany Wassef, 20, of New London.

Wassef remains in critical condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The crash is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The first emergency call came in at 9:57 a.m. from a resident who witnessed the plane crash. It crashed about 25 yards off the southeast side of runway two at the airport.

"The plane had just taken off from Tweed New Haven Airport and reported a mayday, turning around it fell from the sky," said East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo.

Pablo Campos Isona, 31, of East Haven was killed in the crash. It isn't clear who was the instructor and who was the student.

Related: ID Released in Fatal Tweed New Haven Airport Plane Crash: UPDATE

Few details are known about what caused the crash. The Piper PA-38 Tomahawk was equipped for dual pilot control, an NTSB official said. The mayday call was generic and didn't specify the problem.

The instructor and student were practicing standard take-off and landing procedures when the crash occurred.

A witness reported that the plane had taken a sharp dive before crashing. An NTSB official said the account was consistent with evidence at the crash scene. Debris was concentrated in one area.

Image via Town of East Haven