Pilot Charged With Manslaughter After PA Plane Crash That Killed Student: Feds

LEHIGH VALLEY, PA — A Haddon Township man was charged with involuntary manslaughter after crashing a plane in Lehigh County and killing a student pilot, federal authorities said Monday.

In September 2022, Philip Everton McPherson II was pilot-in-command of a small aircraft that took off from Queen City Airport in Allentown. McPherson crashed the plane in front of a home in nearby Salisbury Township, authorities said.

The crash killed the plane's other occupant — Keith Kozel, a student pilot — officials said.

Investigators determined that McPherson flew passengers without a pilot's license between October 2021 and the day of the deadly crash. McPherson, 36, of Haddon Township, was charged by indictment with one count of involuntary manslaughter and 40 counts of illegally serving as an airman without a certificate.

If convicted, McPherson faces up to 128 years in prison, three years' supervised release, a $10.25 million fine, and a $4,100 special assessment.

In September 2021, McPherson failed his re-examination for a pilot's certificate "for a lack of demonstrated competence," said the U.S. Attorney's Office in Pennsylvania's Eastern District. He voluntarily surrendered his certificate about a week later, authorities said.

McPherson allowed his temporary certificate to expire in November 2021, the federal attorney's office said.

Kozel, 49, traveled throughout the world for business, eventually founding an IT consulting firm based in Easton, Pennsylvania, according to his obituary. He loved exploring nature's wonders and spending time with his two daughters.

"To know Keith, was to love Keith," his obituary says. "His appreciation and enjoyment for life was infectious."

A mechanical failure caused the plane crash, according to findings released last month by the National Transportation Safety Board.