WOODBINE, N.J. - A father and son headed to Indiana for a hunting trip were killed yesterday when their small plane crashed in Cape May County.
The single-engine A200 Piper went down around 11 a.m. just minutes after taking off from Woodbine Municipal Airport, about 20 miles southwest of Atlantic City. The pilot, Thaddeus Lazowski, 53, of Dennis Township, and his 12-year-old son, also Thaddeus, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration and state police were investigating the cause of the crash.
The plane, registered to the father, appeared to come straight down and ended up in dense woods in Dennis Township about a mile from the airport, State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones said.
Several state troopers, firefighters, and rescue crews rushed to the scene shortly after the crash and needed all-terrain vehicles to reach the plane. Part of a wing was found about 300 yards from the crash site, Jones said.
No injuries were reported on the ground, authorities said.
Powerful storms spawned by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida had battered the area with heavy rain and wind since Thursday, but it was unknown if the weather had contributed to the crash.
The sky was overcast when the plane took off, with light wind blowing and light rain falling, Jones said.
It wasn't immediately clear where in Indiana the pair had been headed, he said.
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