Saturday, June 14, 2014

Son of David Rockefeller Dies in Crash of Small Plane

For the record:

Dr. Richard Rockefeller, son of the billionaire David Rockefeller, was killed Friday morning when the plane he was piloting crashed shortly after takeoff, reports NYT.

Rockefeller, 65, was the only person on board the plane. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

The plane, a Piper Meridian, registered to Richard Rockefeller, left the White Plains, N.Y., airport about 8 a.m. ET and was reported down within 10 minutes in a residential area less than 3 miles away in Purchase, about 30 miles north of New York City, according to CNN.

Rockfeller’s Piper PA-46-500TP Meridian is considered a high-performance aircraft and was built in 2001, according to U.S. Federal Aviation Administration data. His pilot ratings included certification to fly on instruments in poor visibility, according to the FAA.

Bloomberg reports, Rockefeller’s plane was powered by a turbine engine, a step up in cost and reliability from the piston engines used on most private planes, according to FAA data.

The Meridian also has a pressurized cabin, giving it a ceiling of 30,000 feet (9,100 meters), and has a range of 1,150 miles and a top cruising speed of 260 knots (482 kilometers per hour), according to Piper Aircraft Inc.’s website. Current versions of the Meridian list for $2.2 million, according to the company.

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