Chilling Cockpit Audio Of Final Moments Before Westchester Plane Crash

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — The audio has been released of the final moments before a single engine aircraft crashed Thursday evening, killing two on board, before it could make an emergency landing at Westchester County Airport.

The Beechcraft A36 Bonanza airplane had departed John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens with a flight plan filed to Cuyahoga County Airport near Cleveland. The first sign of trouble came when air traffic control instructed the pilot to climb to 8,000 feet.

"Can we stop our climb at 6,000 [feet]?," the pilot, Boruch Taub, asked traffic controllers.

"You can for now, but I have to climb you to eight along this route so if you want to level off at six for a minute to accelerate or do something that’s fine, but I am going to keep you climbing to eight in about 10 to 15 miles," the controller replied.

See: Pilot, Passenger ID'd In Fatal Westchester County Airport Crash

"We’re not getting the performance we’re expecting, and I’m not certain why," Taub responded.

"Are you unable 8,000?" the controller inquired.

ATC initially suggested an alternate route, but it soon became clear that, despite the pilot's calm demeanor, something was very wrong.

"I don’t understand why we’re not we're only climbing at about 200 feet per minute," Taub radioed. "Eight thousand is going to take a long time to get to."

At this point, ATC asked whether the pilot was having an issue and noted that the Westchester County Airport was just off the airplane’s right wing if the pilot wanted to land and check it out.

Taub then told ATC that the airplane’s engine had a dead cylinder and asked to be directed towards Westchester County Airport.

ATC told the pilot to turn the plane right headed 340 degrees and to maintain 5,000 feet altitude. The controller then told Taub to prepare to approach Runway 16 at Westchester, and then again told him to turn headed 340 degrees.

It wasn't long before it became clear that making it to the airport might not be possible.

At that point in the flight, Taub declared an emergency.

"I am declaring an emergency," he said in a calm but urgent tone. "Our oil pressure is dropping."

"We are going to declare an emergency," Taub repeated a few seconds later. "We are losing oil pressure."

"Understand you are losing oil pressure," the controller said, before asking the pilot if he could turn left heading 70 degrees.

"Yes, we are losing oil pressure, this is an emergency," Taub calmly replied.

The controller then said he was headed directly over the Westchester County Airport onto a path to Runway 16.

The plane descended to 3,000 feet and the pilot was told that the cloud bases at the Westchester County Airport were reported to be at 300 feet.

Taub said that he had flown the instrument approach into Westchester just weeks earlier, but shortly after, he could be heard transmitting a distress call, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Mayday."

ATC continued to guide the plane to Westchester County Airport's Runway 16, saying "you're set up perfectly."

"I can't see a thing up here," Taub said.

Conditions at the airport at the time included heavy rain, high winds and low visibility.

"Runway is at your 10 o'clock and less than a mile," ATC said in a final transition, before ominously declaring, "Radar contact lost."

The 9.5-minute audio recording can be listened to here: