A small single-engine plane that apparently had engine trouble crash-landed on a residential side street in Bayport on Sunday night, injuring the pilot and his passenger, officials said.
The Piper aircraft clipped a utility pole moments before it crashed at the corner of 2nd Street and 3rd Avenue at 7 p.m., after taking off from the Bayport Aerodrome, Suffolk County police said.
The pilot, 34-year-old Scott Clifford, and his 55-year-old passenger, Michael Rome, of upstate Orange County, were airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of their injuries.
Clifford is in serious condition with two broken legs and a head injury, while Rome suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police said the pilot was trying to return to the airport at the time of the incident.
The Federal Aviation Administration is continuing the investigation.
