Teenager who died in a single-engine plane crash in Pennsylvania on July 4 was a student pilot

LOCK HAVEN — The 17-year-old girl who died in a plane crash in Clinton County on July 4 was a student pilot with enough flight experience to fly solo, authorities said.

The single-engine Cessna 172 she was flying crashed in a wooded area off Allegheny Street in Woodward Twp. around 10 a.m. Thursday and caught fire.

The site is located across the Susquehanna River from William T. Piper Airport in Lock Haven.

The teenager, whose name was not released, had left Williamsport Regional Airport in Montoursville on a plane belonging to a local club, authorities said. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board was on site on Friday and examined the wreckage.

The NTSB is not investigating or speculating on the cause of the accident while the investigation is ongoing, a spokesman said. A preliminary report will be released within 30 days, he said.

As part of the investigation, all air traffic control messages, aircraft maintenance records, the pilot’s flight experience and her activities over the previous 72 hours will be reviewed, he said.

Anyone who witnessed the accident or has surveillance video is asked to contact the NTSB at [email protected].