NTSB: Probe showed fire aboard small plane before deadly 2023 crash near Republic Airport

A small plane that crashed just south of Republic Airport in March of 2023, leading to the deaths of the pilot and one of two passengers, was brought down by an in-flight electrical fire caused by a compromised oil pressure line fitting, according to report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The report, which does not assign blame for the March 5 crash, said that Fayzul Chowdhury, 23, of the Bronx, the pilot of the doomed single-engine Piper PA-28, succumbed to his injuries months after the crash. Chowdhury, a pilot for the Danny Waizman Flight School at Republic Airport, suffered third-degree burns to 70% of his body, family members said at the time.

Roma Gupta, 63, of Whitehouse Township, N.J. was pronounced dead at the scene while her daughter, Reeva Gupta, of St. Davids, Pennsylvania, sustained severe burns throughout her body. 

The flight was a "demonstration" to determine if the pair wanted to take an actual flying lesson, officials said at the time.

NTSB investigators said an "electrical short circuit took place involving the fitting on the end of the oil pressure indicating line," allowing oil to leak and ignite, causing the fire. The report does not indicate what caused the short circuit.

Michael Canders, aviation center director at Farmingdale State College, said "an in-flight fire is very difficult to deal with, especially when you're low to the ground and getting ready to land."

In a statement, Reeva Gupta said she was "grateful to be alive" but still unable to return to her job as a neurosurgery physician assistant at Mount Sinai West Hospital in Manhattan.

"Not only did I experience a horrific injury, but I have also suffered the loss of my incredible mother," she said. "Recovery from a burn injury is as difficult as it is enduring. I continue to undergo various procedures and surgeries, and that will continue on for the remainder of my life. While I gain more independence each day, I recognize that life will never look the same."

Gupta's attorney, Jordan Strokovsky, said "based on the NTSB report and statements from those involved with this flight school, it’s clear that this company has a reckless disregard for the safety of their employees and customers. The continued operation of this company or any business associated with this owner is a guaranteed recipe for future disasters, and no one deserves to endure such suffering. The Gupta family hopes that justice will be served."

Danny Waizman, owner of the flight school, declined to comment.

Chowdhury's family members did not respond to requests for comment.

Investigators said flight instructors twice reported incidents of smoke in the cockpit of the aircraft months before the fatal crash.

"The investigation could not conclusively determine if those events were related to the event during the accident flight," the report states.

One instructor told investigators she experienced smoke in the cockpit during her landing approach on a Jan. 2 flight and told Waizman, who replied: "we just changed the cylinder. What do you expect?"

The instructor said no maintenance was performed and the plane was scheduled for another flight, investigators wrote.

Five days later, another flight instructor reported experiencing smoke in the cockpit, investigators said, and the plane was taken out of service.

Waizman told that pilot the fire was caused by "some type of spray" a mechanic used in the engine, the NTSB said. Waizman insisted he'd flown the plane, and it was "perfectly good," the report states. After troubleshooting, the aircraft returned to service, records show.

Investigators said the flight school "employed no standard operating procedures, safety officer, safety program, formal safety meetings, formal procedures for documenting maintenance discrepancies and their corrective actions and had no emergency response plan."

The Piper took off at 2:18 p.m. and Chowdhury made a frantic "mayday" distress call to the Republic Airport control tower shortly before 3 p.m., indicating a fire on board, the report said.

The aircraft went down in a wooded area of North Lindenhurst, 2½ miles southeast of the airport. Nobody on the ground was hurt.

The plane, which was manufactured in 1980, had its most recent 100-hour inspection on Jan. 4, 2023 and a 50-hour inspection on Feb. 27, 2023, the report states.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.