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Coroner called to ultralight aircraft crash in Wayne County

One person died after a personal aircraft crash early Friday morning in Wayne County.

WAYNE COUNTY, Pa. — In Wayne County, authorities confirm a man died after his personal aircraft crashed in a field.

The personal aircraft went down in a field just off of Route 652 near Beach Lake. 

State Police and first responders received a 911 call just before 8 a.m. when the crash was discovered.  

According to the Wayne County coroner, 52-year-old Jeffrey Chorba, from the Beach Lake area, died in the crash.  

After two hours of investigating the scene, pieces of the aircraft were taken away on a rollback.

We spoke with some people off-camera area who knew Chorba and said they often saw him flying around in his paramotor.  

Employees at Cherry Ridge Airport near Honesdale also said Chorba was a paramotor instructor and had a lot of experience with the aircraft. 

They also said Chorba took interest in other forms of aviation.

According to a post on his Instagram page, Chorba just took his first flying lesson in an airplane at Cherry Ridge Airport earlier this week.

Wayne County coroner confirmed a man flying a small aircraft has died after crashing into a field in the Beach Lake...

Posted by Courtney Harrison WNEP on Friday, May 13, 2022

According to Federal Aviation Regulations, an ultralight vehicle is one that:

  • has only one seat
  • Is used only for recreational flying
  • Does not have a U.S. or foreign airworthiness certificate
  • If unpowered, weighs less than 155 pounds
  • If powered:
    • Weighs less than 254 pounds empty weight, excluding floats and safety devices
    • Has a maximum fuel capacity of 5 U.S. gallons
    • Does not exceed 55 knots/63 mph airspeed at full power in level flight
    • Has a power-off stall speed that does not exceed 24 knots/28 mph airspeed or less

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