A Troy developer is dead and his business partner is in critical condition following a single engine plane crash off Van Vranken Road in Clifton Park. Lori Chung has the details.

  To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. -- "That's what it sounded like was a womp, like two cars hit each other."

That's the sound Dowdry Jeanne Hoffman said prompted her to look outside early Wednesday morning, not knowing she would find the wreckage from a deadly plane crash in her front yard.

"And I didn't really see that for a minute," Hoffman said. "But then I went over there and there was a man, the man, the pilot, was moaning."

State Police said the pilot, James Quinn, 68, and his passenger, Walter Uccellini, 67, were headed to Plattsburgh in a single engine Beechcraft Bonanza when they ran into trouble.

State Police Captain John McCarthy said, "The plane took off from Albany [International] Airport at 7:25 and within four minutes notified the tower that they had lost their single engine."

Police said it seems Quinn tried to land on Van Vranken Road, but instead the plane clipped a tree on the way down before crashing into another tree. Uccellini died in the crash.

Hoffman said, "He was hanging out of the passenger's side window. I took his pulse; there wasn't any."

Neighbor Lois Little said, "We knew something major was going on because we heard a big crash and then we saw the helicopters going over."

The accident, we're told, could have been much worse had the pilot failed to keep the plane away from homes.

Hoffman said, "We were all very, very fortunate, except the poor man on the passenger's side."

Quinn was taken to Albany Medical Center with critical injuries. The NTSB is taking over the investigation to determine the cause of the crash.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walter Uccellini was the Principal Owner, Founder and CEO and President of the United Group, a development company based in Troy. James Quinn is the Vice Chairman of the company.

United Group released the following statement after the crash:

“Today is a truly stunning and sad day. We have lost our father, brother, husband, grandfather, uncle, friend, partner and leader. Walter Uccellini was a giant in the world, a truly inspirational figure that we will always love and remember with great fondness. We ask that you respect our privacy during this tragic time. We are a solid team at United Group and will find a way to carry on. But today we mourn the loss of a great, great man. Please send thoughts and prayers for Jim Quinn and his entire family. We are all praying he fights through this.”