More detail on this person: I'm his oldest
daughter. I was 10 when he died. At the time of
his death, he was a young but prominent attorney
in Rochester, NY. He had opened his own firm a
couple of years before he died. He also owned his
own small plane (twin engine prop) and used it to
operate a small company, Ambiar. I believe it was
a medical transport company that helped transport
organs for patients awaiting transplants. He was
also a member of the National Ski Patrol in Lake
Placid, worked the 1979 World Cup and 1980
Winter Olympic Games, and was an avid sailor.
His father (my grandfather) was an instructor at
the Merchant Marine Academy. He grew up on the
water. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
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He was flying our plane from Lake Placid, where we
had a home, to Islip for what was supposed to be
routine maintenance. Someone taxied onto the
runway after he was given clearance to land and he
had to make a late maneuver to try to circle back
around. Both engines of the twin engine plan cut
out. After much investigation it was determined
that the pitch the plane needed to take resulted
in the fuel from both engines draining (one, then
the other). Both engines stalled and he free
fell. There happened to be another former
military person on the ground who witnessed it and
provided important testimony to help prove it was
a defect in the plane rather than pilot error.
Fron: Lara Litchfield-Kimber