Report reveals cause of 2022 Lehigh Valley plane crash that killed student pilot

Federal investigators have determined a partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons led to a 2022 plane crash i n Lehigh County that killed an Easton student pilot and injured a New Jersey man who was his instructor.

The crash killed Keith B. Kozel, 49, of Easton, according to the Lehigh County coroner’s office. Kozel died from multiple injuries; the coroner ruled the death accidental.

Kozel and instructor Philip E. McPherson II, of Clinton, Hunterdon County, were riding Sept. 28, 2022, in a single-engine Piper PA-28 before crashing into a yard on Keystone Road in Salisbury Township, near the Little Lehigh Creek. The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigated the crash, released a final report last month.

The plane, which traveled southwest after taking off from Allentown’s Queen City Municipal Airport, made a slight left turn before crashing next to a home, about one minute and less than a mile after takeoff, according to a separate, preliminary report released about two weeks after the accident. The aircraft was heading to Hackettstown Airport in Warren County, New Jersey, according to documents.

The temperature, around 65 degrees, and dewpoint were conducive to the development of “serious icing” at glide power, that possibly affected the carburetor, according to the report. But the NTSB filing stopped short of attributing the accident to carburetor icing, because any evidence of equipment malfunction had melted in a fire that erupted upon crashing.

In the government document, investigators note that Kozel reported the airplane was not performing as expected during takeoff and initial climb from Allentown’s Queen City Airport. Kozel took control of the plane from McPherson and was able to clear trees off the departure end of the runway, but the airplane would not continue climbing and the engine was “noticeably weak.”

The report also says Kozel maneuvered the plane, maintaining the best angle of “climb airspeed,” but was unable to find a suitable landing area before it struck trees and the ground, setting off a fire.

One person was killed in a plane crash outside a home on Keystone Road near Devonshire Drive along the Little Lehigh Creek in Salisbury Township, on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. The single-engine plane took off from Queen City Airport, officials said.

No pre-impact anomalies were found with the plane and engine, according to the NTSB report. However, while investigators were able to retrieve the entire plane’s body and engine components, including part of the left wing found lodged in a tree about 15 feet above ground, extensive fire damage prevented certain testing and examination of several airframe and engine components, according to the report.

Local authorities and other investigators never revealed McPherson as the instructor. His name appears in the final NTSB report. He went to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township following the crash.

Kozel had flown about 45 hours and was considered one of McPherson’s “advanced students,” according to the report. He had a Class 3 pilot license, which is for student, recreational and private pilots who fly for pleasure or personal business but not for hire.

He was flying that day to undertake “soft field takeoff” practice, noting while Kozel had completed about 30 such takeoffs, “there was still room for improvement.”

The men were in an aircraft owned by Nouman Saleem of ProFlite Aero Services. ProFlite has offices in Palmer Township and typically flies out of Hackettstown Airport, according to information from Saleem. He also previously said his company sometimes uses Queen City.

Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com.

New details on Salisbury Township plane crash revealed; happened one minute after takeoff