A flight instructor who lost his certification prior to a deadly crash in Pennsylvania pleaded guilty Wednesday to manslaughter, according to WPVI-TV. Prosecutors said 36-year-old Philip McPherson of Haddon Township continued flying and instructing despite surrendering his pilot certificate following multiple safety incidents.
Records show McPherson failed a reexamination in 2021 after an examiner was forced to take control of an aircraft to prevent a crash. Earlier incidents in 2020 and 2021 both involved runway excursions at Central Jersey Regional Airport that caused aircraft damage and led to a safety hotline complaint.
The September 2022 crash occurred just one minute after takeoff from Queen City Municipal Airport in Allentown, killing 49-year-old student pilot Keith Kozel of Easton. McPherson, acting as pilot-in-command, survived the impact when the plane came down in a Salisbury Township neighborhood. Investigators later found he had no valid pilot’s certificate at the time of the flight. McPherson is scheduled for sentencing in January.
The instructor’s employer, Proflight Aero owner Nouman Saleem of Palmer Township, pleaded guilty months earlier to federal charges including obstruction of an administrative proceeding and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors said Saleem knowingly allowed McPherson to keep teaching at the Bethlehem Township school despite being aware of his revoked credentials.
Prison… then Dee-port both to Nigeria.
Obviously the rules don’t apply to them. Must be supporters of the current regime.