Philip McPherson II, 37, of Riverside, New Jersey, has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for a 2022 Pennsylvania accident that killed a student pilot during a flight out of Queen City Airport in Allentown.
McPherson was also sentenced Thursday to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, a $4,300 special assessment and $19,530 in restitution. U.S. District Judge John M. Gallagher further barred McPherson from working in the aviation industry.
McPherson pleaded guilty in October to involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obstruction of an administrative proceeding and 40 counts of serving as an airman without a certificate.
McPherson was acting as pilot-in-command of a Piper PA-28-140 on Sept. 28, 2022, when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, killing student pilot Keith Kozel of Easton, Pennsylvania.
McPherson continued flying and instructing after surrendering his commercial certificate following earlier safety incidents. Prosecutors said McPherson failed a 2021 reexamination, voluntarily surrendered his certificate and later allowed a temporary certificate to expire before the fatal flight. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the FAA and the Salisbury Township Police Department.
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