The pilot of a private vintage military jet that crashed into the Hudson River near the Kingston Rhinecliff Bridge has died, according to the state police.
Police divers Sunday morning will resume searching for the body of 38-year-old Dr. Michael Faraldi of Germantown, a Rhinebeck podiatrist and father of two. Faraldi was the only person aboard the jet, which crashed into the ice in the Hudson River Saturday just north of the bridge and was partially submerged.
Faraldi took off from Nashville, Tenn., in a 1969 BAC-167 Strikemaster jet. The cause of the crash is unknown, but it appears to be accidental, according to officials.
The two-seat plane, built in 1969, had multiple turbo-jet engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce. According to the FAA, there are just 14 BAC 167-Strikemasters registered in the U.S.
Kathy Gardner of Clinton Corners was traveling westbound on the bridge, toward Kingston, when she saw the plane in the air, then watched as it rotated 360 degrees before plummeting nose first. She did not see it hit the water.
“It was almost in slow motion,” she said. “It was awful.”
Eastbound traffic was stopped immediately after the crash, but the bridge was opened a short time later.
Faraldi was a podiatrist on the staff of Northern Dutchess Hospital and with a private practice in Rhinebeck, said Dr. George Verrilli of the hospital staff.
A state police helicopter flying over the partially frozen river this afternoon saw “no signs of life” at the crash scene, according to Sgt. Robert Warner of the state police in Millbrook. Capt. Patrick Regan of the state police in Kingston, who is at Charles Rider Park in the Town of Ulster, on the river’s western shore, said it appeared that the pilot has died.
Dr. Kenneth Newman, an anesthesiologist at Northern Dutchess, Kingston and Benedictine hospitals, said he witnessed the crash of his best friend. He was among six pilots at Kingston Airport Saturday afternoon to watch Faraldi fly his new jet overhead on the way to the airport in Hudson.
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“He died in front of me,” he said tonight
Faraldi had just picked up the jet in Nashville and was bringing it home, Newman said. On the way to the Columbia County Airport in Hudson he arranged to show off his new plane to his friends and fellow pilots at the Kingston Airport. Newman and the others were there at about 1:30 p.m. when Faraldi flew over.
“It was called an overfly at the airport,” Newman said. “He was in what they call a pattern.”
But Newman said he knew something was wrong just before the jet crashed into the river.
“It was surreal,” he said. “It’s like it wasn’t happening.”
Newman, who owns and flies a Beechcraft Bonanza, said that Faraldi got him into aviation and they both went though advanced training together.
“He was just a phenomenal pilot,” he said.
Faraldi leaves behind a wife, Donna, and two young children, Newman said.
The emergency effort involved 20 scuba divers, some of whom used chainsaws to cut through the ice a foot thick.
The plane was flying low over the Kingston Ulster Airport before it crashed. Faraldi was headed to the Columbia County Airport in Hudson. The owner of the plane is Dragon Aviation of Wilmington, Del., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In addition to the New York State Police, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office was at the scene, along with emergency boats, helicopters and divers. The U.S. Coast Guard also responded.
Two helicopters circled overhead, and emergency officials were lowered down to the ice-covered river. Two clumps of debris were seen in the river, below the center of the bridge. A command center was set up in Charles Rider Park in the Town of Ulster.
According to Petty Officer 1st Class David Schuhlein, public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard, the Cutter Hawser arrived at the scene after breaking ice on the river. The cutter will be moored in Kingston overnight and could be used in the recovery effort Sunday morning.
According to Dick Knapinski, director of communications for the Experimental Aircraft Association in Osh Kosh, Wis., the plane was used as a British training jet and for light attack. It was manufactured between 1967-1984, can weigh up to 12,499 pounds and achieve speeds of 400 miles per hour.
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