Eyewitness Reports Shed New Light on the Former Sikorsky President’s Plane Crash

According to witnesses interviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board investigators, the restored WWII airplane carrying former Sikorsky Aircraft President Jeffrey Pino and Brookfield native Nicholas Tramontano was seen in “nose down spiral” before it crashed earlier this month.

While the preliminary report released on February 18th does not determine the exact cause of the accident, it does state that all major components of the plane were found at the main wreckage site, limiting the possible cause. Eyewitness reports also helped shed further light on the accident.   

“A witness located about 1 mile from the accident site reported observing the airplane in a nose down spiral about 1,500-2,000 feet above ground level, until it impacted the ground,” states the report. “Another witness located near the accident site stated that the airplane was in a dive and that he did not observe the airplane pull out of the descent.”

Three Market St. Buildings Sold to PREIT and Macerich

In an effort to move forward the conversion of the dilapidated Gallery at Market East into a high-end outlet mall, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and Macerich have acquired three buildings on the 1000 block of Market Street.

The purchase of these properties that line the south side of Market Street between the Marshalls and Freire Charter School building at 10th Street and the Rite Aid at 11th Street shows the confidence of developers in the resurgence of the area. The purchases, totaling $17.4 million, were completed through a surrogate for better pricing.

“We bought them because we think we’re going to create significant value at the Gallery,” said PREIT Chief Executive Joseph Coradino. “That’s sort of the first thing in real estate: Try to buy the properties around the big project you’re developing.”