Plane crash kills at least 1 person in upstate New York, authorities say

A plane carrying six people crashed in an open field near Copake, N.Y., Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

At least one person was killed, Columbia County Undersheriff Jacqueline Salvatore said in a press conference Saturday afternoon but could not specify how many other passengers survived.

The plane did not hit any structures on the way down, Salvatore told reporters, and the crash site is difficult to access because of muddy conditions. It was unclear as of Saturday what had caused the plane to crash, Salvatore said.

Officials from the sheriff’s office, New York State Police, and a local fire department assisted after a 911 call came in around noon.

The Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 was flying to the Columbia County Airport in Hudson, N.Y., the FAA noted.

Data from the tracking site FlightAware shows the same model plane take off from Westchester County Airport just after 11:30 a.m., with a 12:06 p.m. scheduled landing time. The flight path stops short of the airport after turning east.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation and have a team arrive Saturday evening.