The great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller was killed in a single plane crash on Friday.
New York – Richard Rockefeller, a Maine doctor and the great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller was killed in a recent plane crash in New York. The single plane accident occurred after Rockefeller, 64, was making an attempt to fly home following his father’s 99th birthday celebration shortly after 8 a.m. Friday morning.
Great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller dies in NY plane crash
“Rockefeller, who expected to land back in Portland, Maine around 9:25 a.m., nearly struck a home on Cottage Avenue with the 3,500 pound aircraft… His Piper 46 Malibu Meridian slammed into tree tops and a horse farm about a half-mile from the end of the runway near SUNY Purchase, sending pieces of debris more than 100 feet in all directions.”
For more information about the NY plane crash, please visit http://nypost.com/2014/06/13/plane-crashes-into-horse-ranch-near-suny-purchase/.
The New York Post report says that Rockefeller did not call in a mayday at any point during the flight. According to airplane crash attorney Jonathan C. Reiter of the New York based Jonathan C. Reiter Law Firm, “often in private plane crashes like this, the pilot doesn’t recognize that there is a problem until it’s too late.”
The circumstances to determine what may have caused the accident are now being investigated. Attorney Reiter further notes that a number of factors may play a role in single plane accidents including weather conditions and mechanical failure.
Rockefeller, who was involved in the founding of the Doctors Without Borders’ United States chapter, worked as a Portland physician for 18 years. His father, David, is the only living grandchild of John D. Rockefeller, who founded Standard Oil.
