Beachwood Man Identified As Victim In Single-Engine Plane Crash In Pinelands

State Police have identified a Beachwood man as the victim killed in a single-engine plane crash Saturday night in Bass River State Forest, according to the Press of Atlantic City.

William Lindley, 75, disappeared on Saturday night. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter discovered the Ryan Navion A, a 1940's-era plane Sunday afternoon in rough terrain in the forest.

State Police received calls for the possible downed aircraft at 10:55 a.m.. Troopers from the Tuckerton barracks began the search, police said in a news release.

Lindley left Salisbury, Maryland, on Saturday, heading for the Ocean County Airport in Berkeley Township. He did not arrive as scheduled on Saturday night and authorities were unable to communicate with the pilot. Police were able to track his cell phone and the plane's possible location.

State Police spokesman Trooper Alejandro Goez said the plane was located in a heavily wooded area with difficult terrain, requiring the State Police Aviation and Urban Search and Rescue Units to respond, the report said.

Goez did not say whether anyone else had been in the plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the NTSB were on scene investigating.

The weather on Saturday changed from warm and sunny in the early afternoon to cold and extremely windy as a cold front moved across New Jersey Saturday night.

The National Weather Service issued a high winds advisory Saturday, warning of winds gusting to 40 to 50 mph, and the winds were strong enough that authorities lower the speed limit to 45 mph for bridges crossing the Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The front also brought rain, hail and even some snow to southern New Jersey.

Image: Patch file photo

Patch will update this story when more information is available.