NTSB Releases Report on Fatal North Salem Plane Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a preliminary report on the fatal plane crash in North Salem, N.Y. that carried Danbury restaurateurs Val and Taew Horsa. While the Westchester Medical Examiner’s Office has not identified those on board, the couple’s son Ridgefield resident Eric Horsa told the Journal News, his parents were on board.

The plane went missing on approach to Danbury airport on Nov. 19.

According to the report, a preliminary review of air traffic control communication showed that the pilot was cleared for runway approach and acknowledged the clearance. When the controller was transferring communications he noticed the plane was in a descending right turn away from the airport.

The plane descended to an altitude of 1,500 feet before it climbed 2,400 feet and then disappeared off the radar, the report said.

An initial search for the airplane was not conducted due to poor weather conditions. Airplane debris was located the following day on the shoreline of the Titicus Reservoir, about 8 miles southwest of the airport. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has called off the search after parts of the plane and human remains were found in the reservoir, the News Times reports.

Calling hours for the couple will be Dec. 9, according to an obituary published in the Ridgefield Press.

Read the full obituary here.