(WXXI News & AP) Monroe County Deputies say an elderly pilot died after a small plane crash in Parma on Saturday.
It happened at a small landing strip behind Abe’s restaurant on West Ridge Road.
Deputies tell WXXI News that 88 year old Norman Hasman of North Chili was doing ‘touch downs’ where the single engine plane touches down and then takes off again when the crash occurred.
Sgt. Bob Murphy says Hasman was doing touch-and-go exercises when his left wheel caught a patch of tall grass. Murphy says that's when the small plane veered to the left, dug in and flipped on its back.
He says wind may have played a role in the crash. Federal authorities are investigating.
Murphy says the World War II tail gunner was shot down twice in combat and was a prisoner of war in Germany.
He says the airfield where Hasman died is named Hasman Field after him.
