Findings Released in Fatal Plane Crash That Killed Morris County Pilot

Less than two weeks after a small plane with a Chester Township pilot crashed at the Somerset County Airport in Bedminster, the National Transit Safety Board has published preliminary findings from its investigation.

The plane, an Aerofab Lake LA-4-250, hit trees and terrain shortly after takeoff around 8:48 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, the report said. The reason for its quick descent, the NTSB said, was because neither of the plane’s two fuel tanks had anything in them.

According to the NTSB’s report:

“According to the airport manager and surveillance video, the pilot had towed his airplane from its hangar earlier in the day in order to gain access to the boat parked behind it. He spent the day trailering the boat to another location for repair, and returned with the boat after sunset. The pilot then boarded his airplane, started the engine about 2034, and departed runway 30 at 2048. Approximately 30 seconds later, a bright light was seen travelling the opposite direction, and descending approximately parallel to the runway in the wooded area that surrounded the accident site.”

The investigation report continues to say both the left and right wings tanks were breached on impact, contained no residual fuel, and there was “no evidence of fuel blighting of the vegetation surrounding the wreckage.”

“Both outrigger fuel tanks were intact and contained no fuel,” the report said.

The pilot, Philip Clements, 62, of Chester Township, was not found until Thursday morning after the Bedminster Township Police received a missing persons report.

Clements was recognized by the FAA in 2013 for inclusion in the prestigious FAA Airmen Certification Database, a program for certified pilots who have met or exceeded the high educational, licensing and medical standards established by the FAA, the Aviation Business Gazette reported.

Clements is listed as the managing director for Cathedral Consulting, located in New York City. His professional profile is vast, including professor of business at The King’s College in New York City and adjunct professor at Rutgers University.

Privately, Clements has served as the high school-aged Sunday School teacher for the past 13 years at Grace Bible Chapel in Chester and was an elder at the church.