Melanie Georger, 26, was the only occupant of the single-engine Cessna when it crashed on Saturday after the skydivers jumped.
The single-engine Cessna 208B, commonly used for skydiving, crashed near Lake Road in Youngstown, New York, shortly before 1 p.m., according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
According to a news release from the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday, the airplane from the Skydive the Falls skydiving center had completed its drop-off of all divers and was returning to land when it tragically crashed.
The NCSO identified the pilot as Melanie Georger earlier today.
George, from Towanda, New York, was training to become a commercial pilot, her father wrote in a statement on Facebook on Saturday.
“My beloved daughter, my best friend and one of the two lights of my life passed away suddenly today,” her father, Paul Georger wrote on Facebook. “Melanie was a pilot, on the cusp of realizing her dream to fly for the airlines. She was doing what she loved, flying for a local skydiving company when her plane crashed.”
A Skydiver That Leaped From the Aircraft Before the Pilot Crashed Described the Experience as ‘Surreal’
The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office offered a comprehensive account of the incident.
On July 20, 2024, around 11:40 AM, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Communications Center received 911 calls about a plane crash on the Niagara Scenic Parkway near Fort Niagara State Park in Lewiston. The crash also ignited a brush fire. Niagara County Sheriff’s Deputies, NYS Troopers, Town of Lewiston Police, and NYS Park Patrol responded to the scene.
The Youngstown Volunteer Fire Company extinguished the fires caused by a crash involving a Skydive the Falls airplane returning after releasing all divers.
A skydiver who was on the flight with Georger just before the crash expressed feeling blessed to be alive and lamented the tragic loss of her life.
“Why didn’t it happen when I was up there? Why didn’t it happen when we were all on the plane?” first-time jumper Jeffrey Walker told ABC News.
Walker described the events as “surreal.” He also expressed no concern about the pilot’s youth, noting that she personally checked in with him and shared encouraging words about his tandem skydiving partner, which boosted his confidence before the jump.
“I give her props for wanting to do what she was doing,” Walker told the outlet. “I really feel bad for the business and the company she was working for, because they’re a great company.” He added that he “thought they did a great job training.”