New York

2 More Bodies Recovered from Plane Crash that Killed Waterbury Man: Police

What to Know

  • A small plane crashed in the waters off the coast of the Hamptons, the Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration said
  • The plane went down in the waters off of Quogue around 11 a.m., Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier said
  • One body has been recovered from the water

Two more bodies were recovered Sunday from the water off the Hamptons in New York after a small plane crashed, the Coast Guard said.

The twin-engine Piper PA-34 plane went down in the waters off of Quogue around 11 a.m. on Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard said. 

Rescuers recovered a body, later identified as 41-year-old Munidat "Raj" Persaud, of Waterbury, Conn., from the water on Saturday, New York State Police said. Persaud was the owner of the plane.

The other two victims, a man and a woman, were recovered from the wreckage of the plane 20 feet under water around 5 p.m. Sunday, according to the New York State Police.

Sunday morning, search crews used sonar to map the sea floor in an effort to locate the two missing people, Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier said.

The aircraft originally departed from Waterbury-Oxford Airport, then landed at Danbury Municipal Airport before departing again for Charleston Executive Airport in South Carolina, according to the FAA and the CT Airport Authority. 

The site of the crash is three miles southeast of the Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, the FAA said.

Emergency personnel responded to the site of the crash, which was one or two nautical miles south of the beach, Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier told NBC 4 New York.

Debris could be seen in the water from Suffolk County. 

It was a rainy morning as a weak weather disturbance moved through the area. It wasn't immediately clear whether rain was a factor in the crash. 

The wreckage of the plane will be removed from the water on Tuesday.

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