Plane Missing for 40 Hours Found - Crashed In Trees At End of Runway

A missing plane was found crashed in the trees off the end of a runway at the Somerset County airport Thursday, nearly 40 hours after it departed.

A Lake LA-4-250 single engine aircraft departed at 9:45 p.m. on Sept. 8, the Federal Aviation Administration told Patch, and was reported missing Thursday morning. At 1 p.m. Thursday, the FAA said the aircraft, a single-engine, four-seater Lake LA-4-250 was found at the airport.

“Local authorities will release the number of people on board, their names and conditions, the FAA will release the aircraft registration after that. The FAA will investigate, and the National Transportation Safety Board will determine probable cause,” the FAA said in a statement.

While the FAA wouldn’t confirm who the pilot was, a source close to the investigation told Patch that Philip Clements, of Chester Township, was in fact the pilot.

As of 2 p.m., the Somerset County Airport was closed after a New Jersey State Police helicopter found the aircraft off the end of the runway crashed in trees, a source told Patch. Fire, first aid and rescue squads, along with the New Jersey State Police were on the scene, the source said.

Aviation records show Clements had a certification issue date for his plane, with the same model as reported missing by the FAA, on July 20, 1998, and last registered the aircraft in June 2006.

Clements was recognized by the FAA in 2013 for inclusion in the prestigious FAA Airmen Certification Database, a program for certified pilots who have met or exceeded the high educational, licensing and medical standards established by the FAA, the Aviation Business Gazette reported.

Clements is listed as the managing director for Cathedral Consulting, located in New York City. His professional profile is vast, including professor of business at The King’s College in New York City and adjunct professor at Rutgers University.

Privately, Clements has served as the high school-aged Sunday School teacher for the past 13 years at Grace Bible Chapel in Chester and is an elder at the church.

Stay with Patch as more details become available.