Cops Say Prop Fell off Plane Before Crash on NY Lake

Authorities say a small plane that was forced to land on an Adirondack lake last week had lost its propeller in midair.

State police tell the Adirondack Daily Enterprise that the privately owned, single-engine Jabiru was flying at about 6,500 feet last Thursday when the propeller came off. The pilot managed to crash-land the plane in Gull Lake in northern Herkimer County.

He and his passenger were rescued soon after by New York Air National Guard helicopter crews flying to Fort Drum.

The plane was contracted by the Department of Defense to support a Vermont Air National Guard training exercise. It was recovered from the lake over the weekend by a private salvage company.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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