Chautauqua County Sheriff Jim Quattrone is joined by County officials for a press briefing on a fatal plane crash near the Jamestown Airport (June 6, 2023)

The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office has identified the two men who died in a plane crash near the Jamestown Airport Tuesday afternoon.

Sheriff Jim Quattrone identified the pilot as 52-year-old Roger Jay Ryall of Toronto, Canada and the plane’s passenger as 52-year-old David J. Hughes of British Columbia.

Just before 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, airport personnel, the Fluvanna Fire Department and mutual-aid agencies, responded to a grassy, wooded area northeast of the airport’s main terminal for a single engine plane crash.

When crews arrived on scene, they discovered the aircraft fully engulfed by fire with an on-board parachute deployed. After quickly extinguishing flames, an immediate search for victims began with local law enforcement using drones and receiving aid from STAT Medevac.

Quattrone confirmed the remains of the two male victims were discovered within the wreckage.

Sheriff Jim Quattrone said the Cirrus SR-22 traveled from Oshawa, Ontario, Canada to Erie, Pennsylvania Tuesday morning, before arriving at the Jamestown Airport to refuel just after noon. He said the plane departed at 1:41 p.m., crashing shortly after take-off.

An investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is continuing.

The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office reports they received a call about an airplane accident on North Erie Street in the town of Chautauqua around 1:30 p.m. Deputies, Mayville Fire Department, Chautauqua County EMS, and Chautauqua Fire Department found a glider plane in some trees at the scene.

The pilot, 56-year old Galo Grijalva of Lakewood and passenger 60-year old Douglas Sillart of Derby had been trying to land the glider in an empty field when they struck the trees. They were both able to escape and were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The accident remains under investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office says they received a report of a plane down on Baker Street Extension just after 11:00 p.m..

The pilot, 63-year old Lawrence Zupon of Bentleyville, Ohio, had been conducting training exercises when the plane lost power, causing the plane to crash into a wooded area. Zupon and passenger, 25-year old Daniel Rossi of Mayfield Heights, Ohio were able to escape the wreckage. They were treated at the scene before being sent to Hamot Medical Center in Erie for further treatment.

The accident remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Jamestown Post-Journal says there are new details being released into the plane crash that occurred last November near the Chautauqua County airport and which took the lives of three people.

 A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot of the twin-engine plane – Alan Fuller – reported experiencing snow and “light to moderate” turbulence to air traffic control shortly before contact was lost.

Fuller and his flight instructor had also discussed “weather decisions and avoiding ice” by phone prior to the crash.

Fuller was with two passengers, Valerie Holmes and Linda Edwards, when their lost contact with air traffic control around 5:47 p.m. on Nov. 1. All three were from Warren County, Pennsylvania.

The plane was returning to the Jamestown following a trip to North Carolina.