Plane Crashes During Takeoff at Upper Hudson Valley Airport

Details are still sketchy, but a pilot is lucky to be alive after crashing a plane during takeoff according to CBS Albany. Sources say the crash happened around 2 P.M. Wednesday.

Police are saying a small plane carrying a sole passenger crashed during takeoff from the Columbia County Airport Wednesday afternoon. Officials say as the 87 year-old pilot was attempted to take off, the plane shifted to the left and then crashed into the nearby woods.

There is no word yet if weather, equipment malfunction, or human error played a role.

The pilot has been identified as Fred DeFilippis. Police say, in spite of the crash, and the fact that he's in his late 80s, DeFlippis walked away from the impact and refused medical help.

Both the NY State Police and the F.A.A. are investigating.