By Matt Shortall

THOMPSON — Emergency personnel responded to the scene of a small plane crash on Route 42 in the Town of Thompson on Friday afternoon.

It was just before 1 p.m. when the single-engine plane went down approximately four miles south of the Village of Monticello and near the border with the Town of Forestburgh.

The pilot reportedly escaped from the aircraft before the front end was consumed in flames. Further information about the cause of the crash or current condition of the pilot was not immediately available.

The Forestburgh and Monticello Fire Departments responded to the scene, along with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Route 42 was shut down in both directions from the crash site with traffic being diverted along back roads.

Based on the tail number, the aircraft is a 1966 Cessna T210F last registered in Troy, Maine.

UPDATE

From Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office: 

On Friday July 15, 2022 at approximately 12:45 PM, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a plane crash on State Route 42 at the Town of Thompson/Forestburgh line, approximately 3 [miles] south of Monticello, NY.

At the scene deputies found a Cessna 210 single engine aircraft fully engulfed in flames. Deputies interviewed the pilot, Mark Simmons, 66 of Troy, Maine. Simmons advised that he was enroute from Sussex NJ to Sullivan County Airport in White Lake, NY when he developed engine trouble approximately 9 miles out.

The pilot was able to set the plane down on a stretch of State Route 42 that had minimal traffic at the time. Simmons was uninjured and able to exit the plane by himself.

The Monticello Fire Department responded and quickly extinguished the flames. Rock Hill Fire Department, Forestburgh Fire Department and Mobile Medic Ambulance assisted at the scene.

Sullivan County Sheriff Mike Schiff, a pilot himself, said that the experience and skill of the pilot in this incident was clearly apparent.

“Thank god no one was injured or killed,” said the Sheriff.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the New York State Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration investigators responded and released the scene at approximately 7 p.m.

The crash remains under investigation.

https://www.scdemocratonline.com/stories/small-airplane-crashes-on-route-42,60863