Overview
- A single‑engine Piper PA‑25 towing a glider crashed during takeoff at Saratoga County Airport on Tuesday, May 26, catching fire and severely damaging the aircraft.
- State Police identified the sole pilot as 58‑year‑old James R. Stewart of Caroga Lake and said he died from injuries after being taken to Albany Medical Center.
- The glider detached just before the accident and its pilot landed nearby without injury, according to troopers and FAA statements that said the tow plane went nose down and nosed over on impact.
- The NTSB has dispatched investigators to photograph the wreckage, collect air‑traffic and weather records, review the plane’s maintenance logs and examine the pilot’s prior 72 hours, with a preliminary report expected in about 30 days.
- County officials reopened the terminal and one of the airport’s two runways after the crash, and local coverage notes a separate Halloween takeoff crash last year that killed a pilot as context for community safety concerns.