New York plane crash leaves at least one dead as aircraft plunges into field

One person has been confirmed dead following a horror that saw the aircraft slam into a muddy field.

Six people were travelling in a twin-engined Mitsubishi MU-2B as it spilled onto muddy terrain in Copake, in the state of New York, on Saturday after lifting off at around 11.30am (5.30pm BST). The plane was bound for the Columbia County Airport when it plunged from the sky, and emergency services raced to the scene around 50 miles south of the New York state capital, Albany. But rescue workers have encountered difficulty in identifying whether anyone else was injured in the incident, with Columbia's Undersheriff, Jacqueline Salvatore, telling reporters a combination of and wet ground was making it difficult for first responders to access the wreckage.

She told gathered press: "It’s in the middle of a field and it’s pretty muddy, so accessibility is difficult." Ms Salvatore said New York State Police and a local fire department also responded to the incident.

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Officials have also not been able to confirm early on what had caused the plane crash on Saturday afternoon.

Data from aircraft tracking site Flightradar24 captures a Mitsubishi MU-2B departing from Westchester County Airport in White Plains after 11.30am flying towards Hudson, where Columbia County Airport is based.

The plane disappears from trackers a few minutes later.

The New York Times reports that Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) records show the plane was registered to a company based outside Boston. The FAA and local sheriffs said officials with the National Transportation Safety Board would provide an update later today.

Saturday's crash is the latest of several that have happened in the US in 2025, with a spate of catastrophic aviation disasters rocking the country over the last few months. On Friday, all three occupants of a small plane died after the aircraft crashed in Boca Raton, Florida.

Friday's crash was the second in just a few days for New York, with a family of five and a pilot having tragically died after their helicopter plunged into the depths of New York City's Hudson river. The Spanish tourist group had set off for a tour of the major waterway when the chopper fell apart and fell limply from the sky.

All six occupants - Agustín Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, their three young children and the 36-year-old pilot Seankese "Sean" Johnson - died in the disaster, a cause for which local investigators have not yet been able to provide. Experts believe it may have been a result of "mechanical failure or excessive maneuvering".

Speaking to the Daily Mail, former military aviator and attorney Jim Brauchle of Motley Rice LLC said: "The two main causes of this phenomenon are mechanical failure or excessive maneuvering. Still, a full investigation is needed to understand why this tragedy occurred.

"Having previously represented the families of tourists killed during a helicopter tour over the Hudson River, my heart goes out to the families at this catastrophic time."