New York, United States: Two people were killed after a small aircraft crashed in the Town of Enfield, west of Ithaca, New York, on Sunday, August 30, 2026, with the pilot dying at the scene and the second occupant later succumbing to injuries at a hospital.
The aircraft was identified as a 1977 Lake LA-4-200, registration N6185V. The Federal Aviation Administration’s aircraft registry lists the aircraft as a single-engine Lake LA-4-200, serial number 838, registered to Big Bang Airlines LLC of Ithaca, New York. The aircraft was manufactured in 1977 and is powered by a Lycoming reciprocating engine. FAA records list the aircraft’s airworthiness date as June 10, 1977.
The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office identified the pilot as David Kornreich, 52, who was described by authorities as the aircraft’s owner and a registered pilot. Kornreich was pronounced dead at the crash site. The passenger, Andrew R. Harrell, 31, was critically injured and transported to Cayuga Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.
According to investigators, the aircraft had been cleared for takeoff from Ithaca Tompkins International Airport at approximately 11:24 a.m. Its last reported contact with the airport tower came at about 12:02 p.m. The circumstances of the flight between the final tower communication and the crash have not yet been publicly established.
A witness contacted authorities at approximately 12:35 p.m. to report that the aircraft had crashed in the 100 block of North Applegate Road. The witness also told authorities that the aircraft appeared to be experiencing a mechanical problem before it went down. However, officials have not determined whether a mechanical failure caused the crash, and the suspected problem has not been publicly identified.
Authorities have also not publicly confirmed the aircraft’s intended destination or a complete route for the fatal flight. Available flight-tracking records identify N6185V as a private-owner aircraft and show previous flights involving Ithaca, but those records do not establish the destination of the August 30 flight.
The crash did not involve any other people or structures, according to the Sheriff’s Office. No roads were closed as a result of the incident.
Multiple emergency agencies responded to the crash scene, including the New York State Police, New York State Park Police, Enfield Fire & Rescue, Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response, Ithaca Fire Department, Ithaca Airport Fire Department and Trumansburg Fire Department.
The first reports initially indicated one fatality and one critical injury. Authorities later confirmed Harrell’s death, bringing the total number of fatalities to two.
Sheriff Derek Osborne described the incident as a tragedy, saying, “This is a terrible and tragic situation. Our hearts go out to the friends and family of the victims.”
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. Investigators will determine what happened during the aircraft’s final flight and whether the reported mechanical problem played any role in the accident. As of August 31, the official cause remains undetermined.
