Fatal North Lindenhurst plane crash in 2023 during flight lesson from Republic Airport was 'entirely preventable,' suit charges
Firefighters and police responding to a plane crash on 5th Street off of North Wellwood Avenue on March 5, 2023. Credit: Paul Mazza
A Pennsylvania woman critically injured in a 2023 plane crash in North Lindenhurst that killed her mother and the flight instructor who'd taken them on an "introductory flight lesson" out of Republic Airport has filed a lawsuit in Queens Supreme Court, alleging the crash was "entirely preventable."
The March 5 crash was the result of "reckless disregard for basic aviation safety," the suit alleges, according to court documents obtained by Newsday.
The suit, filed last week by attorneys Jordan Strokovsky, of Philadelphia, and Mark D. Shirian, of Manhattan, alleges that defendants Waizman Aviation Inc., 2BA Pilot NYC Corp., Republic Aviation Corp., Danny Waizman and Robert Gainor all ignored warning signs — including prior incidents reporting smoke in the cockpit — in the weeks leading up to the fatal crash.
"The evidence is clear — this was not an accident, but the foreseeable consequence of gross negligence and a failure to prioritize human life over profit," the plaintiff's attorneys said in a joint statement.
According to an Oct. 30, 2024, investigation report by the National Transportation Safety Board, "an in-flight fire due to a compromised oil pressure line fitting" led to "electrical arcing" and "ignition with the leaking fluid," resulting in a fire and crash during an attempted emergency landing.
The Piper crashed into trees and ultimately into the ground in a wooded area near Long Island Rail Road tracks in North Lindenhurst.
Plaintiff Reeva Gupta, 33, of St. Davids, Pennsylvania, a neurosurgery physicians assistant at Mount Sinai West, was critically burned in the post-crash fire that engulfed the single-engine Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II. She spent months in a medically induced coma. Her mother, Roma Gupta, 63, of Whitehouse, New Jersey, was killed in the crash.
The pilot, Fayzul Chowdhury, 23, of the Bronx, was critically injured in the accident and died months later from injuries suffered in the crash, according to the NTSB.
The suit, citing the accident report, asserts that the Piper was not equipped with fire extinguishers, and that on two prior occasions in the weeks leading up to the crash there were reported incidents of "smoke in the cockpit," with two flight instructors "employed by the operator" each reporting those conditions, only to have those warnings dismissed.
Republic Aviation is named as the owner of the plane. Waizman and 2BA Pilot NYC Corp. are owners of the aviation company that Waizman manages and which rented out the plane for the lesson. Gainor is named in the suit as the mechanic who serviced the plane.
Attempts to reach Gainor were unsuccessful. A man who answered a phone number listed for Waizman Tuesday identified himself to a reporter as Danny Waizman and, when asked for comment on the lawsuit, said: "I cannot give you anything" and then hung up the phone. Calls to Waizman Aviation and 2BA Pilot NYC Corp. Tuesday were met with a voicemail instructing callers to text a number in order to book a flight with the companies.
With Robert Brodsky
A Pennsylvania woman critically injured in a 2023 plane crash in North Lindenhurst that killed her mother and the flight instructor who'd taken them on an "introductory flight lesson" out of Republic Airport has filed a lawsuit in Queens Supreme Court, alleging the crash was "entirely preventable."
The March 5 crash was the result of "reckless disregard for basic aviation safety," the suit alleges, according to court documents obtained by Newsday.
The suit, filed last week by attorneys Jordan Strokovsky, of Philadelphia, and Mark D. Shirian, of Manhattan, alleges that defendants Waizman Aviation Inc., 2BA Pilot NYC Corp., Republic Aviation Corp., Danny Waizman and Robert Gainor all ignored warning signs — including prior incidents reporting smoke in the cockpit — in the weeks leading up to the fatal crash.
"The evidence is clear — this was not an accident, but the foreseeable consequence of gross negligence and a failure to prioritize human life over profit," the plaintiff's attorneys said in a joint statement.
According to an Oct. 30, 2024, investigation report by the National Transportation Safety Board, "an in-flight fire due to a compromised oil pressure line fitting" led to "electrical arcing" and "ignition with the leaking fluid," resulting in a fire and crash during an attempted emergency landing.
The Piper crashed into trees and ultimately into the ground in a wooded area near Long Island Rail Road tracks in North Lindenhurst.
Plaintiff Reeva Gupta, 33, of St. Davids, Pennsylvania, a neurosurgery physicians assistant at Mount Sinai West, was critically burned in the post-crash fire that engulfed the single-engine Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II. She spent months in a medically induced coma. Her mother, Roma Gupta, 63, of Whitehouse, New Jersey, was killed in the crash.
The pilot, Fayzul Chowdhury, 23, of the Bronx, was critically injured in the accident and died months later from injuries suffered in the crash, according to the NTSB.
The suit, citing the accident report, asserts that the Piper was not equipped with fire extinguishers, and that on two prior occasions in the weeks leading up to the crash there were reported incidents of "smoke in the cockpit," with two flight instructors "employed by the operator" each reporting those conditions, only to have those warnings dismissed.
Republic Aviation is named as the owner of the plane. Waizman and 2BA Pilot NYC Corp. are owners of the aviation company that Waizman manages and which rented out the plane for the lesson. Gainor is named in the suit as the mechanic who serviced the plane.
Attempts to reach Gainor were unsuccessful. A man who answered a phone number listed for Waizman Tuesday identified himself to a reporter as Danny Waizman and, when asked for comment on the lawsuit, said: "I cannot give you anything" and then hung up the phone. Calls to Waizman Aviation and 2BA Pilot NYC Corp. Tuesday were met with a voicemail instructing callers to text a number in order to book a flight with the companies.
With Robert Brodsky
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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