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A small, single-engine plane crashed into the backyard of a home in East Patchogue Tuesday morning, killing the pilot but missing houses in the tranquil residential neighborhood, officials said.

The pilot was R”L pronounced dead at the scene. Miraculously, no one on the ground was injured. Sources tell YWN that the pilot was Hanan Shoshanyi Z”L, a resident of Jamaica Estates in Queens, NY. He was 54 years old. Misaskim is working with the family to ensure proper Kavod HaNiftar.

“It was very, very fortunate that he traveled in the path he did,” Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer said, noting the doomed plane’s trajectory took it between houses less than 30 yards apart. “Because of that no one was hurt,” on the ground.

A private single-engine plane, which left Republic Airport in East Farmingdale at 8:50 a.m., crashed into a backyard at 51 Camille Lane at approximately 9:05 a.m.

First responder Gregory C. Miglino Jr., chief of South Country Ambulance, said it appeared the pilot “skillfully” managed to avoid hitting homes.

“This would only have been divine intervention or a guy who knew what he was doing and didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Miglino said. “The houses are close together, the parcels are small, there isn’t a lot of room . . . It appears that this guy skillfully put this plane between two houses; that he put it down in a way where he wouldn’t hit anything.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will continue the investigation to determine the cause of the crash.

(Chaim Shapiro – YWN)