Authorities say that a pilot who was known for taking saved dogs to shelters and care facilities died in a plane crash in the Catskill Mountains of New York state on Sunday.
Monday, it was confirmed that the person who died was 49-year-old Seuk Kim from Springfield, Virginia. Kim was known for sending dogs in need of a safe place to stay and care to places that would take them. For example, earlier this year he did this with a dog that he found in a Houston shipping container.
The flight was part of a charity that uses volunteer pilots to take rescued animals to places where they can be housed, placed, or given care, according to Green County Sheriff Peter Kusminsky.
In a number of statements, the Green County Sheriff’s Office said that after the crash at 6:10 p.m. on Sunday, first responders such as sheriff’s deputies, state forest rangers, state police, and local firefighters rushed to the scene in the town of Windham, New York, in the Catskills.
For a short time, the Federal Aviation Administration said that the crash site was found in Catskill State Park.
The downed plane, Kim’s body, the body of a dead dog, and the body of a Labrador mix dog with two broken legs were found by first responders, according to the sheriff’s office. It said that a third dog was lost.
From what the sheriff’s office heard, the Hyer Ground Rescue group took the hurt dog to a vet hospital. It said that Hyer Ground and Partners for Animal Welfare found the dog and took it to a place where animals can get care.
The sheriff’s office said that Kim’s body would be put through an autopsy.
He was taking a four-seater propeller-driven Mooney M20J from Maryland to Albany, New York, the office said. The crash spot is about 50 miles northeast of Albany.
Just before the crash, the National Weather Service said it was 39 degrees and raining lightly. It’s still not clear if the weather had anything to do with what happened. The place where the plane was found had a foot of snow on the ground, Kusminsky told the AP.
What caused the crash is being looked into by the National Transportation Safety Board.
