Authorities say an upstate New York college student piloting a small plane when it crashed, killing her and a classmate, had flown the aircraft before.
National Transportation Safety Board investigator Tim Monville says Wednesday that 18-year-old Colgate University freshman Cathryn Depuy flew twice in August with the owner of the single-engine Cessna 150 that went down Sunday in the rural town of Eaton. Also killed was 18-year-old Ryan Adams. Both were from Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Monville says Depuy had about 3 hours experience in the Cessna and 130 hours overall. She got a student license in October 2013. A relative said she got a full license in August.
Monville says there was no distress call and the first sign of trouble was an emergency beacon about 20 minutes after takeoff.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
EDITOR'S NOTE: - In an earlier version of this story, The Associated Press, relying on information from the Federal Aviation Administration, erroneously reported the status of the pilot's license. Cathryn "Carey" Depuy had a pilot license and not just a student license, which would have forbidden her from carrying a passenger.
