Pilot and His Girlfriend Die in Long Island Plane Crash, Their Dog on Board Survives

The plane went down just 20 minutes after takeoff

Photo: News 12 Long Island

A pilot and his girlfriend were killed Saturday after their small plane went down in a field on Long Island.

Pilot Robert Mark, 66, and Susan Quagliano, 57, died after their single-engine, six-passenger Beechcraft crashed at approximately 9:19 a.m. near Harbes Family Farm in Mattituck, the Southold Police Department said in a press release.

First responders arrived on the scene to find the aircraft, which took off from Long Island MacArthur Airport at 9 a.m., completely engulfed in flames.

A dog that had been riding with the victims managed to escape, and was later found by a local farmer, police said. Mark and Quagliano shared an address in Oakdale, New York, NBC New York reports.

Facebook

“The plane started to experience engine failure, circled once, tried to land in a farm field up on Laurel, and then ultimately crashed in the field,” Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell told Newsday, which also reported that the pair were headed for New Bedford, Massachusetts.

The crash is currently being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, who will then turn it over to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Harbes Family Farm issued a statement on the accident, writing on Facebook, “We’re saddened by the tragic plane crash this morning in a field on our Mattituck farm. Thankfully, no one on the ground was injured, but sadly, two people perished in the crash. Our prayers tonight are with the victims and their families.”