Former Bedminster Man Killed in Pa. Plane Crash

A Bedminster man was killed in the same helicopter crash that seriously injured a Bernardsville man near Mount Pocono in Pennsylvania Oct. 9.

The helicopter crashed on Pennsylvania state game land property in Coolbaugh Township about 8 p.m. Oct. 9.

Bernardsville resident Stephen Barral was the backseat passenger, and was transferred to Pocono Medical Center, and then Lehigh Valley Hospital.

The pilot of the helicopter, 52-year-old William Ellsworth, was pronounced dead at the scene, as was the front-seat passenger, Tighe Sullivan, 51.

Ellsworth, a resident of Califon, grew up in Bedminster, according to an article in the Bernardsville News.

More than 650 friends and family members attended a memorial service for Ellsworth Oct. 13 at St. Bernard's Episcopal Church in Bernardsville, the article said.

According to the article, at the time of the crash, Ellsworth was piloting the helicopter back home from a golf outing in Elmira, New York, when it crashed in a heavily wooded area.

The helicopter had reportedly just dropped off a passenger in Willkes-Barre, Pa., the article said, and flew through bad weather in the Poconos.

Authorities were notified that the plane was missing at around 10 p.m. because contact with the pilot had been lost.

According to the article, Ellsworth became a licensed pilot at age 15, and earned his commercial airline pilot's license at 21. He served as a flight instructor at American Flyers in Long Valley, the article said, and worked as a charter and corporate flyer for Pan Am from 1988 until 1993 when he joined American Airlines.

Ellsworth is survived by his wife, Trish; his two children, Eliza, 18, and Harry, 15; his parents, Duncan and Molly; and a brother and sister.