Rockefeller heir dies in New York plane crash
Richard Rockefeller, the great grandson of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller, was killed in a plane crash in New York on Friday.
The 65-year-old died as his single-engine plane took off from Westchester County Airport, Bloomberg reports. The aircraft went down and hit some trees, narrowly missing a house.
A Red Cross official told WCBS-TV: "It looks like the plane came over the house, hit a couple of trees very close to the house. There is some debris in the trees."
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Doctor and father-of-two Rockefeller, from Maine, was the only person on board the plane, CBS News reports.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said he was flying a Piper PA-46-500TP Meridian which is considered a high-performance aircraft.
John Starace, Westchester County airport operations manager, told Bloomberg that the weather was foggy and visibility was "very low".
Family spokesman Fraser Seitel said: "It's a terrible tragedy. Richard was a wonderful cherished son, brother, father and grandfather.
"He was an experienced pilot and a respected medical doctor, who most recently was working on treating PTSD in veterans. And it's just horribly sad."
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