NTSB releases report on small plane crash in Jamestown that left 2 pilots hospitalized, pilot identified
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — In a preliminary report, the National Transportation Safety Board released new details on the final moments of an Aug. 5 small plane crash at the Jamestown Airport that left two pilots hospitalized.
The pilot has been identified as Orchard Park businessman and developer Gerald Buchheit. The plane’s number is registered under Buchheit’s highway paving company, Accent Stripe.
Those close to the Buchheit’s family told WIVB News 4 that he was released from the hospital on Tuesday after suffering burns to his hands and a back injury.
Buchheit and co-pilot were flying in a Cessna 750 from Chautauqua County Dunkirk Airport (DKK) and were on their way to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport to collect airplane parts and a mechanic for work on another plane at DKK, the report said.
According to the NTSB, the air controller tried contacting the crew multiple times, but received no replies and started communicating on the emergency frequency. Later on, the controller had some contact with the crew, but the transmissions were “very garbled,” the report said.
The final transmission from the crew was, “we are about to land at Jamestown,” the NTSB said. Track data showed the plane was aligned with the runway and hit the ground at about 10:11 a.m. “in a flat attitude about 200 feet before the approach end of runway 25,” according to the report.
The NTSB said Buchheit was seriously injured and the co-pilot sustained minor injuries.
The co-pilot said at about 5,000 feet in their initial climb, he smelled “electrical smoke,” but Buchheit didn’t, the NTSB said. The co-pilot then couldn’t smell it, but when the plane reached 8,000 feet, both the co-pilot and Buchheit smelled the smoke again. Both pilots said there was no visible smoke, the report said.
News 4 spoke with aviation expert Bob Miller on Tuesday, who said he trained Buchheit when he first started flying.
“Once there’s smoke in the cockpit, even sparks, anything like this, the first objective is to get the airplane on the ground as soon as possible,” Miller said.
As they were descending about 10,000 feet, the co-pilot said the airplane was “trimming down and accelerating… well over 250 [knots] with the nose trimming down,” according to the NTSB. He also said caution signals were lighting up along with other system messages when he tried contacting the controller.
“Seconds count here, so he could have just simply pushed the nose over to get the airplane down quick and that would have explained the rapid increase in speed,” Miller said.
The copilot said throughout the flight, no messages were displayed in relation to the engine and none of the engines malfunctioned.
The NTSB said after they landed, the cabin filled with smoke and the airplane was surrounded by fire. Buchheit then opened the main cabin door and both him and co-pilot exited the plane “without assistance,” according to the report.
“That airplane, it cannot do the final landing. The pilot must take control, just usually 100 feet above the runway or so,” Miller said. “And if they were incapacitated because of smoke — again, we don’t know — that would have resulted in a bad outcome.”
Buchheit reported 17,000 total hours of flight experience on Sept. 6, 2023, and the co-pilot reported 12,950 total hours on June 7, 2024. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane’s last inspection was on July 11, 2024, and it had 2,677 total hours of operation.
“You certainly wouldn’t expect something like this to happen to he and his airplane, because I know they’re they’re very conscientious pilots,” Miller said.
Miller said the NTSB’s next steps will be a final probable cause report to find the source of the crash, which can take up to a year of investigating.
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Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here.
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