One dead in small plane crash in Town of Aurora near Dion Dawkins' home

The crash happened near Stewart Court off Route 20A
Plane crash in East Aurora
A helicopter flies over a home in Orchard Park as the wreckage from a small plane crash burns in the background. Photo credit Provided to WBEN

East Aurora, N.Y. (WBEN) - The pilot of a Beechcraft A36 aircraft is reported dead following a crash into a backyard in a suburban area of the Town of Aurora.

Erie County Sheriff's deputies, East Aurora Police, New York State Police and emergency personnel responded to the area of Stewart Court near Route 20A for a small plane crash at around 12 p.m. EST on Thursday. The crash happened near a home owned by Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins.

The FAA tells WBEN the plane is a single-engine Beechcraft A36. Only the pilot was on board the plane at the time of the crash.

"We do not have the identity of the pilot. This happened in the area of Stewart Court. It did happen in a small wooded area in-between two residences. There are no other injuries," said Patrick Welch, East Aurora Police Chief.

William Major, the Buffalo Niagara International NFTA Fire Department Chief, detailed the chain of events leading up to the crash.

"We were notified as the airport fire department for an aircraft alert at 11:16 a.m.," Major said. "The protocol is, the pilot would call in an emergency, he would talk to the local air traffic control tower, and they would direct him to the closest airport. And we were standing by, waiting for his or her arrival at the Buffalo Airport."

Video canvasing is going to take place in order to aid law enforcement agencies. Welch says they're going to use any means necessary.

"Part of the canvas of an investigation like this is to seek out any and all available information. That would include anything that's available to us: Eyewitnesses, Ring doorbells, surveillance cameras, anything that's out there that people have that can help us or the NTSB or FAA figure out what happened, why it happened, and come to a conclusion," Welch said.

Crash happened near home of Dion Dawkins.
Small plane crash in East Aurora Photo credit WBEN
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