Coatesville plane crash: Chester County school board president killed in small plane crash

COATESVILLE, Pa. - A Chester County school board president and the pilot of a small plane died after the aircraft crashed two minutes after taking off in Chester County.

Octorara School Board President, Sam Ganow, was the only person on the plane when it went down in West Caln Township Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Family members arrived at the scene shortly after the crash. The plane went down in a backyard dangerously close to an Amish farmhouse and cabinetry shop. A woman was napping inside when it went down.

"We got lucky. The plane was really close to the house. From the witnesses, the plane just missed the house," Curt Martinez, of the West Caln Township Police, said.

FlightAware shows the short flight path when it took off from Chester County Carlson Airport. It went down about two minutes later.

The Octoraro School Board identified Ganow, 65, of Cocharanville, as the pilot. His own Facebook page honored the husband, father and grandfather and his 26-year work as a school board member. 

FAA records show the 1978 Grumman GA-7, twin engine, 4-seat plane passed inspection last May and was owned by a Lancaster Auto Repair business.

Sergio Ponce heard the plane go down and was just working on the property about an hour before the crash. Living so close to an airport, a crash was always in the back of his mind. "Since it’s so close, it’s not something that you can get prepared for, because it can happen in a matter of seconds, like a car accident."

The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the cause of the crash.