Police Identify West Chester Man, 67, as Plane Crash Victim

A 67-year-old West Chester man is one of the two victims killed in a small plane crash in Chester County last Sunday, officials confirmed.

According to NBC 10, the West Goshen Police Department has identified Col. Richard Poch of South Five Points Road as a passenger inside the Piper PA28 plane that crashed shortly after takeoff from Brandywine Airport Sunday afternoon. The other victim has been identified as Joseph Deal of Drexel Hill, who was flying the plane. Both men were qualified pilots, sources confirmed to 6 ABC.

Shortly after, the plane went into a tailspin and crashed fewer than 20 feet from Harrison Hill Apartments, an over-55 apartment complex. The FAA’s investigation into the causes of the crash is still underway.

According to Philly.com, Poch was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and is survived by a wife, three siblings, two children and five grandchildren.

(Photo: Joe Deal of Drexel Hill.)